The Vancouver Canucks traded J.T. Miller, Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington to the New York Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first-round pick last year in January. One year later, it’s safe to say things haven’t worked out as planned for either franchise.
NHL insider Jeff Marek didn’t mince words on the latest episode of DFO Rundown when discussing the deal. Marek declared it the worst trade in NHL history citing that the deal sabotaged both franchises simultaneously.
“I think that we have now officially seen the worst trade in the history of the NHL, which means it completely sabotaged both teams, and the effects of it you’re seeing this season. J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. The Rangers are worse since getting him. The Vancouver Canucks are worse since letting him go,” Marek said.
The trade saw Miller return to the team that originally drafted him 15th overall in 2011. One year later, both teams find themselves in freefall. The Rangers are now 22-29-6, ranking 30th overall in the NHL while the Canucks have plummeted to 32nd place in the league standings.
Marek then put the trade in historical context comparing it to other blockbuster deals that failed to deliver.
“Like there have been trades that really didn’t, sort of, you know, like, with big names here too, right? Like, not like Gretzky to St. Louis didn’t do much for either team; it was a huge trade, but, like, it didn’t really do much for the Blues, and the Kings really didn’t get much back, as it turns out, for Wayne Gretzky.”
But even those legendary misfires pale in comparison to the Miller deal’s dual destruction, per the insider.
“Can you think of a bigger trade that went as far as this trade did to completely unravel two franchises?” Marek asked. “I’ve been racking my brain about this one for a while. What’s a worse trade? Because this trade helped take down two teams, two teams in one fell swoop.”
Miller’s individual season has been far from his best with the 32-year-old center managing just 14 goals and 22 assists while posting a minus-22 rating in 48 games.
J.T. Miller heads to Olympics after Rangers hit rock bottom
Earlier last week, the New York Rangers closed out their pre-Olympic schedule in the worst way possible with a lifeless 2-0 shutout loss to Carolina that extended their losing streak to four games.
The defeat capped a nightmarish stretch for the Blueshirts who have now lost seven of eight and have a .446 points percentage, which is the third-worst in the entire NHL.
When asked where things went wrong against Carolina, J.T. Miller didn’t sugarcoat it.
“From the drop of the puck,” Miller said. “We got outplayed the whole night. They were just more determined, skated faster, and executed.”
Miller’s response when asked about his message to the team heading into the three-week Olympic break was blunt.
“I don’t know,” Miller admitted. “We gotta come back with a better mindset. Hasn’t been good enough the last little while. So try to regroup, freshen up, and, I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
“We want to go into the break feeling good about ourselves, and it’s quite the opposite right now. So, sucks,” he added.
Miller will now turn his attention to representing Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, his first Olympic appearance. The Americans open against Latvia on Feb. 12, giving Miller a chance to compete for something positive before returning to face the Rangers’ crisis.
Edited by Anjum Rajonno
