The struggling Rangers haven't been afraid to part ways with familiar faces while searching for a much-needed spark, and it appears their first trade domino could've fallen before the holiday season arrived.
According to a report from Jose Yobe of The Athletic, the Rangers offered star veteran Mika Zibanejad to the Vancouver Canucks for veteran J.T. Miller earlier this season, but the trade proposal was turned down.
Zibanejad has been a shell of himself this season. The 31-year-old center has scored just eight goals and recorded 24 points in 39 games, after averaging 81 points across his past three seasons. He's also on pace to finish below 20 goals scored for the first time since his debut season with the Rangers in 2017-18.
There are other signs pointing to Zibanejad's decline. His plus-minus mark of minus-19 is his lowest since 2018-19. His uninspiring 2.0 points-per-60-minutes average is his lowest in more than a decade. And to make matters more disconcerting, he carries an $8.5 million annual cap hit with a full no-trade caluse through the 2029-30 season.
As for the Rangers' interest in Miller, the connection isn't too surprising. The 31-year-old center was drafted by the franchise back in 2011 and played with them for his first six NHL campaigns. During his tenure in New York, he logged 72 goals and 100 points in 341 games.
Miller produced a renaissance campaign with the Canucks in 2023-24, racking up a career-high 37 goals and 103 points across 81 games. But his game has unfortuantely mirrored Zibanejad's this season -- only eight goals and 29 points in 29 games.
New York, which fell just two wins shy of a Stanley Cup Final appearance last spring, currently finds itself in a steep hole. With a stunning 18-20-1 record entering Tuesday, they rank seventh in the Metropolitan Division standings and are at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020-21.
December was an active month for Rangers general manager Chris Drury, who shook up the roster by trading captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and former first-round pick Kappo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.