According to a report from Josh Yohe of The Athletic, the New York Rangers proposed a swap deal to the Vancouver Canucks that would have exchanged center Mika Zibanejad for J.T. Miller. That proposal, according to Yohe, was rejected by the Canucks.
Yohe did not have much to say about Miller, Zibanejad, the Canucks, or the Rangers, other than, "There is plenty of chatter out there about Pittsburgh-area native J.T. Miller. Earlier this season, the Rangers offered struggling center Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver in return for Miller. The Canucks turned down the offer. It’s no secret that the Rangers are very interested in Miller, who was drafted by New York in 2011 and played his first six NHL seasons there."
It is worth noting that, even if the Canucks had accepted such an offer from the Rangers, both Miller and Zibanejad would have to waive their no-movement clauses in their contracts to officially facilitate the move.
Conversely, this is the advantage the Canucks would have if they wanted to potentially trade Elias Pettersson, for example, as the 26-year-old does not have any trade protection in his contract until July 1.
I am really not surprised that the Canucks reportedly rejected a Zibanejad-Miller swap trade pic.twitter.com/ZDZqJs87wI
— Jonathan Bailey (@ByJonBailey) January 7, 2025
Further to these points, it is not exactly a surprise that the Canucks didn't want Zibanejad from the Rangers, anyway. By most public analytics models, Zibanejad has fallen off a cliff defensively, and his dips in offensive production at even strength and on the power play do not make the 31-year-old an attractive reclamation project with an $8.5 million cap hit for five more seasons.
Overall, Zibanejad has eight goals, 16 assists, and 24 points in 39 games this season and is continuing to trend downward from the personal-best 91-point campaign he had in 2022-23.
Miller, too, has struggled. He has eight goals, 21 assists, and 29 points in 29 games with the Canucks this season after recording career-highs in goals (37), assists, (66), and points (103) just a season ago. Still, when he's been in the lineup, the 31-year-old has been one of Vancouver's more effective players, even if the puck hasn't been going in as much as he and the Canucks might like.
If the Rangers are truly serious about acquiring Miller, the swap offer proposed to the Canucks is likely not the last attempt they'll make at their former draft pick. Anything can happen with the NHL trade deadline still two months away.