Within the risk-averse NHL, the Rangers and Canucks determined it was higher to roll the cube than to just accept their new regular as playoff outsiders.
It is a breath of recent air.
Even realizing that the J.T. Miller-Elias Pettersson saga had develop into untenable — admitted as a lot by Canucks president Jim Rutherford — the package deal that the Canucks finally settled on carries numerous danger for the staff.
It carries numerous danger for the Rangers as nicely.
Right here is the potential danger — and reward — of the Canucks and Rangers’ swap.
The Threat
The Canucks did one thing that groups should not do — traded the very best participant, who additionally occurs to be a real prime middle, and received again a thriller field within the course of.
The Rangers additionally did one thing you are not alleged to do — they acquired an ageing participant on the unsuitable facet of 30 in the course of a down season on a long-term contract. And so they gave up on a promising 25-year-old middle who has confirmed he generally is a 20-goal scorer within the NHL. And whilst this transfer doubtlessly makes the staff higher this season, it might not make them higher with sufficient time left to make a distinction.
In the meantime, that 25-year-old middle, Filip Chytil, hasn’t seemed like the identical participant since struggling a concussion that price him 72 regular-season video games and a part of the playoffs final 12 months. Vancouver is banking on him to seek out the a part of his sport stolen by accidents over the previous two seasons.
The pink flags are waving. So, what offers?
The Reward
Rangers basic supervisor Chris Drury has been actively searching for to remake the core of his staff because the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers eradicated New York in six video games final spring.
For the reason that season began, he is dealt defenseman Jacob Trouba and winger Kaapo Kakko, acquired and prolonged defenseman Will Borgen, and now traded Chytil in a deal for Miller.
Miller, a former 100-point participant who’s notoriously tough for top-line facilities to match up towards, might be the participant the Rangers have been lacking within the 2024 playoffs.
For the Canucks, their hand was pressured by the Miller-Pettersson feud spilling into the general public sphere. That mentioned, there may be an upside within the gamers they acquired. The actual reward was the top-13 protected first-round decide the Rangers despatched — offering Vancouver with the ammunition they wanted to make a second trade Friday evening that introduced in pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Marcus Pettersson from Pittsburgh to bolster their back-end.
As of Feb. 1, two groups have been on the surface wanting in, and neither thought-about that acceptable.
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