In the NHL, all news is local. The blockbuster trade that saw Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall, and Martin Necas end up on new teams has shaken the league, but it might have impacted the New York Rangers in unique ways. We've been closely following the storyline of the Ranger's interest in Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller, and the trade involving the Carolina Hurricanes may have shifted the paradigm for the East Palestine, Ohio native and former New York Ranger.
If you're new to this, here's a quick summary. J.T. Miller has had a falling out with teammate Elias Pettersson. He's asked for a trade, and the Vancouver Canucks are looking to trade one of the two. Miller's market value is showing disappointing returns for the Canucks, who killed a deal with New York because they didn't want to retain on that deal. As time continues to pass, Miller's value drops further, forcing Vancouver to reconsider its stance, which is wanting to keep Pettersson.
Teams interested in Miller were reportedly Carolina, New Jersey, Boston, Dallas, and the Rangers. New York is apparently staying informed but pulling back with their offer still standing if Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin reconsiders. What killed the trade between these two franchises was the Canucks unwillingness to retain on Miller. That might change, but for the time being, it's been the nail in the proverbial coffin for this.
With the Rantanen deal, the markets changed. New York pushed hard, and it is one of the places Miller would consider waiving his no-movement clause. With New York having the cap space to acquire Miller without giving contracts back and Vancouver shifting to being willing to take a package based on futures rather than assets that will help them right now, the Rangers may yet land their former forward.
We can assume now that Carolina is out of this race, right? Eric Tulsky in Carolina is an incredible hockey mind, but that would be ridiculous. New Jersey, Boston, and Dallas must move money out. Colorado could enter this conversation now without Mikko Rantanen. They will need high-end scoring, and some depth at the center never hurts. However, no one quite has the same leverage as the Rangers in this push for the services of the disgruntled New York forward.
If the Rangers re-negotiate a better deal that would see them give up fewer assets but take on the entire Miller contract, they can win this race to the forward and answer the monumental add of their division rivals. They could do this for pennies on the dollar, taking advantage of Vancouver's situation. It would be a longer-term move because Miller has term on his deal. We'll see what happens, but there are reasons to be optimistic if you want Miller back in Manhattan.