Insider Drops Bombshell on Canucks’ JT Miller Trade

Jeff Marek’s take on the JT Miller trade is simple but tough: it was bad for both the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers. Most trades pick a side—someone wins, someone loses. In this case, Marek argues that both teams walked away worse. After the deal, the Canucks slid to 32nd in the league, and the Rangers sank to 30th. That’s not a coincidence in his eyes.

Why the Miller Trade Felt So Odd

What made the Miller deal stand out is that it never fit the usual logic of a trade. There was no clear upside for either club. Vancouver didn’t maximize value, and New York didn’t get the version of Miller they were hoping for. Marek keeps pointing to it because it’s rare to see a move backfire in two directions.

In Vancouver’s case, the decision wasn’t only about hockey. The room had personality issues, and the organization felt it needed a circuit breaker. That urgency pushed them into a trade that wasn’t built around best value—it was built around calming things down. When that’s the starting point, the return almost never matches the talent going out.

Miller’s Output: Vancouver vs. New York

And the talent was real. Miller gave the Canucks 437 points in 404 games, averaging 1.08 points per game. His peak years—99 points in 2021–22 and 103 in 2023–24—show how dominant he was. Those are elite scoring seasons, by any standard. Even in quieter seasons, he drove offence at a consistent clip: 0.38 goals, 0.71 assists, and that same 1.08 points per game average. Vancouver squeezed top-tier production from him every season.