The New York Rangers first round pick on Friday is no more.
The Rangers are transferring the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins to officially complete the J.T. Miller trade. As of this moment the Rangers will spend June 27th sitting on the draft floor just watching the first round, although that could certainly change.
As a result of sending a 2025 NHL Draft pick, the Rangers will now retain their first round pick at the 2026 NHL Draft. Miller was traded to the Blueshirts by the Vancouver Canucks on January 31 for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first-round pick. That pick was traded by Vancouver to the Penguins in a separate trade shortly after it was acquired.
After a season in which the Rangers did not qualify for the postseason, the very year after winning the Presidents' Trophy, they landed the No. 12 pick via the draft lottery.
Breaking: Rangers have notifed the NHL that they are sending this year's 12th overall first-rounder to Pittsburgh to complete the JT Miller deal instead of deferring the transfer to 2026, Post has learned.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) June 24, 2025
After returning back to where his career began (No. 15 pick by the Rangers in the 2011 Draft), Miller's numbers exclusive to the Rangers for the 2024-25 NHL season were as follows: 32 games played, 13 goals, 22 assists for 35 points with an average of 1.09 points per game, which was up from the 0.88 points per game he registered in Vancouver.
More trade information
The Rangers had until Wednesday to inform the Penguins of whether the team would be keeping the pick, of if they would give Pittsburgh their first round pick in 2026 instead. The 2026 selection would have been unprotected and locked in as property of the Penguins, and the Rangers ran the risk of giving them an even better pick if somehow things went worse during the 2025-26 season.
Pittsburgh already holds the No. 11 overall pick in the first round and will now have back-to-back selections. The Penguins now have six picks in the first three rounds of this week's draft, including three third-round picks.
In more Rangers and Penguins connections, Mike Sullivan is entering his first year as head coach for the Blueshirts after previously spending four seasons serving as an assistant coach behind the bench under John Tortorella. He had spent the last decade leading the Penguins.
Additionally, two of his three recently announced assistant coaches joined the Rangers from Pittsburgh — following Sullivan to Madison Square Garden.
New York's updated draft order is now as follows — No. 43 pick in the second round, No. 70 pick in the third round, No. 89 in the third round which was acquired in the Chris Kreider trade, No. 111 in the fourth, No. 139 in the fifth, Nos. 166 and 171 in the sixth, and — finally — No. 203 in the seventh round.
The first round of the 2025 NHL Draft will be June 27 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and Rounds 2-7 are June 28 (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1)