The New York Rangers made a monumental trade on Friday night, bringing JT Miller back to the place where he spent the first six seasons of his National Hockey League career.
Miller has made an immediate impact after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, and general manager Chris Drury is reportedly not done making moves ahead of the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, per Larry Brooks of The New York Post.
“The Rangers project to have $16.5M in cap space at the deadline. There is the expectation that Drury is not done making changes to the roster. These moves may be of a shorter-term variety,” wrote Brooks earlier this week. “The GM’s moves will be dictated by results both leading to the deadline and to the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break that starts on Feb. 9.”
Miller has managed four points over his first two games in New York, including a two-goal game in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. He adds an element that the Blueshirts were sorely lacking, and he’s already formed chemistry on a line with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
“It is certainly an exciting day and was an exciting night to acquire JT Miller, certainly one of the premier impact forwards in the NHL,” Drury said shortly after the deal. “[He] brings a unique combination of skill, size and physicality to our team, and not just helps us here in the short term but will be a key part of our core moving forward.”
The executive continued: “I think he’s going to have a terrific impact, not only on the ice but in our room. And not only for the remainder of this year but moving forward as a big piece of our core. As you all know, he’s a terrific 200-foot player, plays both sides of the puck, [plays] both special teams, has a physical element and has a high level of compete that we’re excited to bring to our group.”
Miller will look to help New York right the ship; the squad has lost four of seven and are now five points back of the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference.
Jonathan Quick’s 400th gets Rangers back in win column
Although the Rangers lost Miller’s debut against the Bruins on Saturday, they were quickly able to recover. New York beat the struggling Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Sunday, and it was also Jonathan Quick’s 400th National Hockey League win. He’s the first American goalie to reach the milestone, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for a Blueshirts team that had lost three games in a row previously.
The hope in the Big Apple is that the inclusion of Miller will help the team turn things around, and that will be especially true if the front office makes another move or two ahead of the deadline.
“I’m always exploring ways how we could be better,” Drury told Brooks.
The Rangers will play three games this week before the 13-day 4 Nations Face-Off break, beginning with a rematch against the Bruins — this time at Madison Square Garden — on Wednesday night.
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