Who was the biggest loser of Vancouver Canucks' J.T. Miller trade with New York Rangers?
Trades are always fun for fans to judge.
But the J.T. Miller trade has been a painful one for both Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers fans.
It was one year ago today that the Canucks ended the public feud between Elias Pettersson and Miller by trading the American star to the Rangers.
The full trade was Miller, defenceman Erik Brännström, and prospect Jackson Dorrington in exchange for New York’s 2026 first-round pick, Filip Chytil, and Victor Mancini.
Since the trade, both teams are among the NHL’s five worst squads based on points percentage.
Both the Canucks and Rangers are bottom-five NHL teams since the J.T. Miller trade. (NHL)
Canucks management has voiced on numerous occasions that they didn’t want to trade Miller, but felt like they had to based on the fractured locker room dynamics.
Clearly, the hope was that trading Miller would allow Pettersson to flourish.
Instead, the Canucks highest-paid player has 17 goals and 46 points in 66 games since the deal was made. That’s a 21-goal, 57-point pace over a full 82 games.
Miller, on the other hand, has 27 goals and 70 points in 78 games since that fateful trade.
While Pettersson’s supporters might point to the fact that he’s been placed in a tough matchup role, the same has been true for Miller in New York.
Miller’s defensive impact has actually been better, as the Rangers have allowed fewer shot attempts and expected goals against with Miller skating, compared to when Pettersson is on the ice for the Canucks.
In the short term, the Canucks clearly traded away the better player, even if he’s likely past his prime.
However, despite being younger, Pettersson might be past his prime, too.
Even though he just turned 27 in late November, it’s been 24 months since Pettersson has been anywhere near his peak.
Regardless, Miller’s impact hasn’t helped New York in the standings, with fans calling out his backchecking issues.
The Miller acquisition hasn’t helped the Rangers as much as they anticipated, and the decision to trade what ended up being the 12th overall pick for him looks foolish in hindsight.
But did they really fare worse than the Canucks in this deal?
Of course, if the Canucks just kept the Rangers’ first-round pick, they would have won this deal. Adding another top prospect in that draft would have given the Canucks below-average pipeline a much-needed boost.
Instead, the carelessly flipped that pick just hours later to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Vincent Desharnais, Danton Heinen and prospect Melvin Fernstrom, in exchange for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
Just for some extra salt in the wound, Pittsburgh monetized some of those Canucks assets by trading Desharnais for a fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks. They also traded the 12th overall pick in exchange for an additional first-rounder, which allowed them to make three picks in the first round in 2025.
The decision to get Marcus Pettersson has transitioned from short-sighted to disastrous when you consider his struggles this season. Pettersson’s Wins Above Replacement is negative this season, meaning that he’s statistically been worse than a replacement-level player.
Using Wins Above Replacement, the only Canucks who have struggled more are Tyler Myers and Evander Kane.
All of this goes without mentioning that Chytil, the player who was supposed to replace Miller in the lineup, has suffered two concussions and has played in just 25 of the Canucks’ 86 games since Jan. 31, 2025, putting up five goals and nine points.
Make no mistake, this trade was a massive loss for both clubs.
But, when you consider the inexcusable short-sightedness of the floundering Canucks flipping a first-round pick for immediate help, just to sink to the bottom of the NHL standings mere months later, they lamentably emerge as the losers of this deal.