Rangers Reportedly Threw A Hail Mary To Bring Back JT Miller In Rejected One-For-One Trade

The New York Rangers are prepared to do whatever it takes to right the ship after their follow-up campaign to a Presidents' Trophy win in 2023-24 has completely unraveled, and the most recent step was reportedly a potential blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks are having their own struggles after a strong season last year as well, and one of the big talking points has been forward JT Miller. There have been lots of rumors that the Canucks want to move Miller amid claims that he and Elias Petersson — a big part of the team's future — don't get along.

Well, the Rangers reportedly saw this as an opportunity to bring Miller — a former Ranger — back into the fold.

According to The Athletic's Josh Yohe, the Rangers offered a one-for-one deal to the Canucks that would've seen forward Mika Zibanejad going the other way in exchange for Miller, but Vancouver turned it down.

The Vancouver Canucks reportedly rejected a big one-for-one offer from the New York Rangers. (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

Yohe didn't say when this happened, but said it was "earlier this season." There had been some talk of trading for Miller while he was away from the team for personal reasons a couple of months ago, but those were publicly shot down.

I love a one-for-one trade. For a GM, it's the most high-risk, high-reward tool at their disposal. You could look like a genius, or you could look like a drooling dope.

So, I'm disappointed we didn't get to see this, but I get why Vanoucver would turn this offer down. Zibanejad has been one of the biggest offensive weapons in hockey over the last few years, but he's on pace for 50 points this year, per Sports Illustrated, which would be his lowest total since the 2017-18 season.

Sure, he may bounce back in the future, but right now Zibanejad's stock is lower than it has been in years.

The Rangers have been one of the most active teams in hockey this season as far as trades are concerned. They dealt former captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks this season and also traded former second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.