12:39PM: Pierre LeBrun mentions the Rangers as one of the “suitors” for JT Miller and says that Miller could move this week or at the trade deadline this year. (The Athletic)
9:49AM: At Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman wrote about JT Miller and said “whether it’s the Rangers or Washington or someone else, the Canucks will aim higher than Minnesota’s return for Fiala and should get it for J.T. Miller.” (Sportsnet)
The Wild traded Fiala to LA last week for a first round pick in Thursday’s draft and 2020 second round pick Brock Faber.
Jeff Marek said on 32 Thoughts “just from the outside, it very much looks like this is sizing up, if they are going to do a deal that it’s either going to be with the Washington Capitals or the New York Rangers.”
Ben Kuzma wrote in The Province that the Rangers and Capitals are “in pursuit” of Miller and that the Rangers “coveted” around the trade deadline.
Kuzma says that the Rangers were willing to deal Filip Chytil, a prospect and a first round pick for Miller at the trade deadline but were not willing to trade Braden Schneider. (The Province)
He adds that the Rangers would need to “sweeten the pot” beyond prospects Vitali Kravtsov and Nils Lundkvist. (The Province)
Harman Dayal wrote in The Athletic that Vancouver would be best served by finding a team that Miller would sign an extension with.
Arthur Staple wrote in The Athletic that the Rangers wouldn’t trade Braden Schneider for Miller prior to the trade deadline, but that a package of Filip Chytil or Kaapo Kakko plus Nils Lundkvist “should be enough” to make a deal if that is the route Vancouver decides to take. (The Athletic)
Larry Brooks writes in the NY Post that it is hard to “justify” trading either Chytil or Kakko for one-year of Miller. (NY Post)
Kevin Weekes said on Nick Kypreo’s radio show on Tuesday that “if you are Van and going to trade him, you better hit on iit…..I do know, from speaking to different clubs, that they are in on him. I’m not sure Van will be able to consumate a deal that they are looking for in terms of their price in time for the draft, but I do know a lot of teams are in on JT Miller.
Kypreos said that teams likely won’t trade for Miller unless they can sign him or speak with him about an extension first. (Kyper)
Adam Rotter: The question with Miller is whether the Rangers view him as a rental in a quest to go all in next season and deal with the ramifications of that down the line or whether the Rangers think they can sign him long-term/want him long-term. A lot of people think that Miller is landing in the Metro for this season and the future with teams like Pittsburgh and Columbus having local ties, the Devils needing a veteran forward, Washington going all in as long as Alex Ovechkin is there and with questions about Nicklas Backstrom future and the Rangers fitting all of those categories to a certain degree.
The appeal to making a deal for Miller during this past season was that you were guaranteed two playoff runs with him and now you are only guaranteed one. The one year vs two years is why the Rangers have been connected with Winnipeg’s centers (Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois) because they are both under team control for two plaoyff runs.
Do I think the Rangers are still interested in Miller? Yes, but likely at the rental price and that is a lot lower than the price Vancouver could get for him from a team that signs him. The Rangers have all the assets to make a deal, but I don’t know which players prospects are available for a rental and which aren’t. Braden Schneider isn’t going anywhere, you hear mixed things about Kakko and I’m not sure the Rangers are all that interested in moving Brennan Othman. Does Chytil, Lundkvist and a conditional second round pick, that turns into a first if the Rangers go the Conference or Stanley Cup Final work? It’s more than the Fiala trade and gives Vancouver two young players in their lineup plus a pick. Any team would be smart to protect their first rounder next year, or make it conditional, with Connor Bedard as a generational talent, but I don’t know if any of that works for Vancouver. You’d think that the Devils could make a better offer or that the Penguins, if they don’t re-sign Evgeni Malkin, would want to do everything they could to bring Miller in next to Sidney Crosby. There is also this thought that if the Rangers miss on Miller, Winnipeg won’t trade their centers and that Evgeni Malkin leaves the Penguins that Malkin could end up sliding in next to Artemi Panarin. I’m not sure how likely that is though and there are a lot of people who want to see Evgeni Malkin put on another jersey before they believe he’ll leave Crosby.