The New York Rangers have had an interesting season, and find themselves struggling to get back into a playoff spot after a rough patch found them fall to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. They decided to make a couple of moves trading Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks as well as Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken in hopes of shaking up their team and going back to their winning ways.
Related: Walt Poddubny: Rangers’ Brief and Tragic Star
They have figured out a way to get back into contention and seem poised to sneak into a playoff spot this season, but trade rumors continue to follow them around. In this edition of Rangers News & Rumors, we look at the J.T. Miller trade rumors, Filip Chytil’s name being tossed around as a trade candidate, and Mika Zibanejad‘s interest in being traded.
J.T. Miller Trade Was Close With Canucks
Sources have revealed that a massive trade between the Rangers and Vancouver Canucks was close to being completed, almost to the point where Miller sat out against the Edmonton Oilers for trade-related reasons. According to a report from The Athletic, the deal included Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, and future assets including a first-round pick heading to the Canucks in exchange for Miller.
Miller, who is 31 years old, has scored eight goals and added 24 assists for 32 points through 36 games with the Canucks this season. He has played 835 games in his career, scoring 246 goals and adding 425 assists for 671 points which comes out to a 0.80 points-per-game average. He played with the Rangers previously between the 2012-13 and 2017-18 seasons before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Chytil, who is 25 years old, has scored 10 goals and added eight assists for 18 points through 38 games this season. Throughout his career, he has scored 74 goals and added 88 assists for 162 points through 375 games. Lindgren, who is 26 years old, has scored two goals and added nine assists for 11 points through 42 games this season. Throughout his career, he has scored 12 goals and added 79 assists for 91 points through 375 games. It seems that a deal has fallen apart for now, but they could start talking again and see if they can make something work, considering how close they already got.
Mika Zibanejad Trade Offer Refused
The Canucks and Rangers had already been talking previously about Miller, and Mika Zibanejad’s name had come up in trade discussions previously. According to a report, the Canucks had rejected an offer of Zibanejad for Miller earlier in January, and it seems as though those discussions had fallen apart fairly quickly. Trade negotiations didn’t even seem to get as far as required to ask either Miller or Zibanejad to waive the clauses in their contract to allow the deal to go through.
Matt Rempe Scores Highlight-Reel Goal
An interesting moment from the Rangers’ recent game against the Ottawa Senators was the surprising highlight-reel goal from Matthew Rempe. His style of play, which has been solely focusing on the physical side of the game and dropping the gloves on random occasions, was changed a bit when he went top-shelf on Senators’ Anton Forsberg to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead in the third period. It’s nice to see him find some confidence offensively, as he has been adamant that he wants to help the Rangers in different ways other than physical play, so hopefully, he can continue to build on his offensive game.
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