Rangers’ Unwillingness To Take On J.T. Miller’s Entire Contract Reportedly Derailed Massive Trade

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks were progressing on a deal for J.T. Miller before everything ultimately fell through.

However, he did not divulge the reasoning behind why trade was nixed.

Now, we are learning more about what held up this potential deal and the Rangers’ hesitancy to pull the trigger.

“It’s abundantly obvious that they’re trying to make something work with J.T. Miller,” NHL insider Frank Seravalli said. “And I think some of the pushback that I got was from the Rangers end, was not so much that it was a clause that was related to the first-round pick being moved, but that it was the Rangers not being willing to take on the entirety of J.T. Miller’s contract. That ended up being the hangup.”

Miller signed a seven-year, $56 million contract with the Canucks in 2022 that won’t expire until the end of 2029-30 season as he’s set to make $8 million per year.

This is a pretty hefty contract, especially given that he’s already 31 years old. Acquiring the veteran forward could be a big financial risk for the Rangers a few years down the road.

It’s unclear if the Rangers and Canucks will be able to overcome this roadblock and whether or not the Blueshirts are still interested in chasing after Miller via trade.