Rangers Acquire J.T. Miller From Canucks
Trade discussions between the Rangers and Canucks regarding J.T. Miller have been off and on in recent weeks but a deal is now complete. Per announcements from both teams, New York has acquired Miller along with defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington from Vancouver in exchange for center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. The pick is protected in the top-13 this year and if it doesn’t convey this year, the Canucks will instead receive New York’s unprotected 2026 first-rounder. Structuring the pick like that will encumber the Rangers from moving that 2026 selection in another trade later on.
Miller waived his no-move protection to facilitate the swap, ending what had been a rocky last several weeks for the 31-year-old. There has been speculation of an internal rift between Miller and center Elias Pettersson, something that team president Jim Rutherford confirmed earlier this week. As a result, Vancouver has been engaging in trade discussions involving both players for quite some time now.
Miller returns to his first NHL team with the Rangers having drafted him 15th overall back in 2011. He spent parts of six seasons with them, recording 172 points in 341 games before being moved to Tampa Bay in 2018. He spent parts of two years with them before Vancouver acquired Miller in the 2019 offseason and since then, his career has taken off.
After only recording more than 60 points just once in his career before joining Vancouver, Miller surpassed the point per game mark in four of his first five seasons with them; the only time he didn’t reach at least 70 points was the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Along the way, he signed a seven-year, $56MM contract that runs through the 2029-30 campaign, meaning New York will be adding another pricey contract to their books with an $8MM AAV; Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver is not retaining salary on Miller’s contract.
But things haven’t gone quite so well for Miller this season. His offensive numbers – though still respectable – are down as he has nine goals and 26 assists in 40 games so far. He has just three tallies in his last 24 outings, however, and two of those came in one game. That drop in performance certainly didn’t help his trade value which likely contributed to the delay in getting this done.
Even with the drop-off in performance this year, Miller will still represent a sizable upgrade on Chytil in terms of role and production. He’ll give them a third veteran presence down the middle behind Mika Zibanejad, a duo that will be around for a while as Zibanejad is also inked through the 2029-30 campaign. Vincent Trocheck is also in the mix, signed through the 2028-29 season so they now have plenty of stability at that position for the foreseeable future.
As for the other pieces heading to New York, Brannstrom was once a highly-touted prospect after being a first-round pick for Vegas back in 2017. However, his offensive game – his calling card growing up – hasn’t quite materialized in the pros and he has bounced around since then; this will be his third team of the season after spending training camp with Colorado before being moved to Vancouver. Brannstrom has eight points in 28 NHL games this year but cleared waivers earlier this month and had been with AHL Abbotsford before the swap. The 25-year-old has a $900K cap hit (which wouldn’t count against the cap if he remains in the minors for New York) and will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.
Dorrington, meanwhile, was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver in 2022, going 176th overall. He has spent the past three seasons at Northeastern University and has 10 points in 23 games for the Huskies in 2024-25. Dorrington will have one year of college eligibility remaining after this season so he could be a near-term addition to New York’s farm system.
Chytil is the headliner of the swap for the Canucks in terms of the players they’re getting back. The 25-year-old was originally expected to be part of New York’s long-term plans down the middle after they made him the 21st pick in 2017. However, Chytil has dealt with considerable concussion issues throughout his career which has caused him to miss significant time, including 72 games just last season.
However, Chytil isn’t too far removed from his best offensive season when he collected 22 goals and 23 assists in 72 games back in 2022-23, solid second-line production. He’s not too far off that pace this year either as he has 11 goals and nine helpers through 41 appearances. He’s averaging less than 15 minutes a game this season but if he lands on the second line behind Pettersson, it’s possible that Chytil could be in line for a bit of a bigger role with his new team. For his career, he has 164 points in 378 games.
Vancouver will be taking on a multi-year commitment with Chytil as well although he isn’t signed quite as long as Miller. He has a $4.4375MM cap charge on his contract through the 2026-27 season and will be an unrestricted free agent at its expiration. Accordingly, a big portion of this trade for the Canucks will be some increased salary cap flexibility moving forward.
As for Mancini, the 22-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract after wrapping up his college career last season. He has played in 15 games with the Rangers this year, picking up a goal and four assists in a little over 15 minutes a night before being sent back to AHL Hartford last month to get more playing time. In 23 games with the Wolf Pack, he has three goals and seven assists. If he isn’t recalled directly to Vancouver, Mancini stands to be one of their top recall options whenever injuries arise.
From a salary cap perspective, the Rangers still have ample cap space to work with as PuckPedia puts them with a little over $3.5MM in projected cap room thanks to their early-season trade of Jacob Trouba. Meanwhile, PuckPedia pegs Vancouver with a little less than $2.7MM in space which gives them some breathing room to try to bank some extra flexibility between now and the trade deadline to try to add to their roster and turn around their recent struggles.
For the production and role that Miller has had for most of his time with Vancouver, this return is on the low side but the internal rift clearly became too much, resulting in the Canucks taking a below-market return. Nonetheless, if Chytil can do well with his new team and the Canucks properly use their extra draft, prospect, and cap capital, they could still come out of this in decent shape.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that talks between the two sides about Miller were intensifying and was first with Brannstrom and Dorrington’s inclusions. TSN’s Farhan Lalji originally reported Chytil being in the swap. Larry Brooks of the New York Post was first with the details on the pick protection.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Rangers Recall Matt Rempe, Assign Victor Mancini To AHL
The Kaapo Kakko swap wasn’t the only transaction the Rangers made today. Not long after the trade was made official, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford while re-assigning defenseman Victor Mancini to the Wolf Pack.
Rempe made his presence felt down the stretch last season and earned a spot with New York in training camp. However, the 22-year-old didn’t play much early on and since he’s still waiver-exempt, the team has elected to largely keep him in the minors this season, allowing him to get more playing time while playing a bigger role than he has typically had with the big club.
With the Rangers, Rempe has been limited to just four games this season where he has been held off the scoresheet although he has seven hits and seven penalty minutes in just 6:26 of playing time per night, an uptick from the 5:38 he played last night. In Hartford, he has suited up 18 times, picking up three goals and two assists along with 22 penalty minutes.
As for Mancini, the 22-year-old is in his first professional season after wrapping up his college career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha last year. Ideally, New York’s preference would have been for him to play big minutes in the minors but a strong early showing down there plus a need to help their back end has resulted in him primarily playing for the Rangers. With the addition of William Borgen, they can now allow Mancini to get that bigger playing time in Hartford.
Mancini has played in 15 games with New York so far this season, picking up a goal and four assists while logging 15:05 per night of playing time. He has also played in six games with the Wolf Pack, recording five points. His cap hit is $50K higher than Rempe’s, allowing them to offset a small portion of the extra $300K pro-rated that they took on in the Kakko-Borgen swap.
Latest on Jacob Trouba, Rangers Recall Victor Mancini
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that the New York Rangers are weighing several options when it comes to defenseman Jacob Trouba. The team would like to trade their captain and have already said he won’t play this evening, but Trouba does hold a modified no-trade clause and can block a trade to certain teams. Friedman indicates that if Trouba does not waive his no-trade the Rangers have said that they will waive the 30-year-old.
Friedman acknowledges in his tweet that New York is playing “Hardball” with Trouba, but it is not an unprecedented situation and has happened before. Nothing is confirmed at this point, but it does appear that Trouba will be on the move one way or another in the coming days.
Trouba has one year left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $8MM. However, he is owed just $6MM in salary for next season. The Rochester, Michigan native has dressed in 24 games this year, posting just six assists. He has averaged exactly 20 minutes in ice time per game and has struggled at even strength, particularly in the possession department, where his CF% is just 45.5%.
Trouba’s play has been an issue for several years now but became a major story in last year’s playoffs when he found himself demoted to the third pairing and was exposed as a liability despite being given sheltered minutes.
In a corresponding story, the New York Rangers announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Victor Mancini from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. Mancini has dressed in ten NHL games this season for the Rangers, tallying a goal and three assists. The 22-year-old recorded his first NHL goal earlier this year against the Detroit Red Wings.
In the AHL, Mancini has posted two goals and three assists in six games and is coming off a three-point game on Wednesday night against Bridgeport.
Rangers Recall Brett Berard, Ruhwedel And Mancini Assigned To AHL
The New York Rangers have recalled forward Brett Berard from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and have assigned defensemen Victor Mancini and Chad Ruhwedel to the AHL.
A former fifth-round pick in 2020, Berard will have an opportunity to make his NHL debut in just his second full season with the Wolf Pack after spending three seasons with Providence College of the NCAA. The 22-year-old had 25 goals and 23 assists in 71 AHL games last season and has produced better offensive numbers this season with seven goals and six assists in 16 AHL games thus far.
Going back to the AHL is Mancini, who himself is a former fifth-round pick (2022) and is in his second season of professional hockey, although he played just seven AHL games last season. The Hancock, Michigan native has dressed in ten NHL games for the Rangers this season and has produced decent offensive numbers with a goal and three assists while averaging 15:25 of ice time per game. Despite the offensive numbers, Mancini has been overwhelmed on the possession front, posting an abysmal 36.3 CF% at even strength.
Also headed to Hartford is veteran Ruhwedel. The former Stanley Cup champion has rarely seen AHL action since becoming an NHL regular in 2017-18. Ruhwedel played out a series of short-term one-way NHL contracts but had to settle for a two-way deal this past summer. This year the 34-year-old has played sparingly, with just one scoreless NHL appearance and seven AHL games.
The demotion of two defensemen to the AHL likely means that Zachary Jones will return to the Rangers lineup sooner rather than later.
Rangers Recall Victor Mancini
The Rangers have recalled defenseman Victor Mancini from AHL Hartford, per the minor league’s transactions log. They returned center Jake Leschyshyn on loan to Hartford to keep their active roster at a maximum of 23 players.
After unexpectedly making the opening night roster, the 6’3″, 215-lb Mancini was sent to the minors last week after a run of four straight healthy scratches. Evidently, the stay-at-home righty has done enough to earn a second chance in the NHL after scoring once and logging an even rating in three games for Hartford.
Mancini, a fifth-round pick in 2022, is in his first full professional season after spending the last three years with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Michigan native had one goal and three assists with a +3 rating in his first nine NHL games earlier this season.
However, Mancini graded out quite poorly away from the scoresheet. Bolstered by a .948 SV% from his goalies while on the ice at even strength, the Rangers controlled just 35.4% of shot attempts and 34.5% of expected goals while Mancini was skating. Those are the worst possession numbers on the Blueshirts this season by a significant margin.
The Rangers already have an extra defenseman on the roster in Chad Ruhwedel, and no reported injuries. Mancini’s recall could be for a yet-to-be-disclosed injury issue, or it could just be to give the youngster another look on NHL ice.
Leschyshyn, 25, had been on the Rangers’ roster for the better part of the last week but did not play, sitting as a healthy scratch for three straight games. He was the club’s only extra healthy forward with Filip Chytil out, signaling that the latter may be available tomorrow against the Oilers after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
In 13 games with Hartford this season, Leschyshyn has one goal and three assists for four points with a -4 rating. He has just two goals and four assists for six points in 77 career NHL appearances and hasn’t played an NHL game since Jan. 11, 2024, against the Blues.
Rangers Recall Chad Ruhwedel, Assign Victor Mancini
The New York Rangers have made a swap on defense, recalling veteran Chad Ruhwedel from, and assigning rookie Victor Mancini to, the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Mancini has served as a healthy scratch for New York’s last four contests, and will now search for hardier ice time in the minor leagues.
Ruhwedel returns to the Rangers lineup after a brief stint in the minor leagues. He played in seven games for Hartford, recording two assists and four penalty minutes but otherwise failing to jump off the page. The stint was the longest Ruhwedel has had in the minor leagues since 2016-17, when he played in 28 games and scored 16 points for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He’s spent the time since serving as a stout seventh defender for the Pittsburgh Penguins and, thanks to a midseason trade last year, the Rangers. That’s been Ruhwedel’s role since he joined the NHL in 2012-13, when he signed with the Buffalo Sabres as an undrafted free agent. He’s gone on to total 365 appearances across 12 seasons, including this year thanks to one scoreless game in New York. Despite the long run in the league, Ruhwedel still sits one point shy of his 50th career NHL point.
While he searches for that, Mancini will look to continue his hot start to the season in the minor leagues. The 22-year-old recorded four points in the first nine NHL games of his career this season, and seemed capable of handling routine minutes on New York’s third pairing. But growing pains and lineup competition forced Mancini out of a spot, leaving him to build on the three assists he recorded in seven AHL games last year. New York originally drafted Mancini in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, following a strong freshman year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He’d go on to total 23 points in 110 games with Nebraska-Omaha, turning pro at the end of the 2023-24 season. This assignment likely isn’t the end of Mancini’s NHL time this year, especially if he can breathe light into a Hartford team off to a menial start this season.
Rangers Make Nine Roster Moves
After submitting a cap-compliant roster for Monday’s opening-night deadline, the Rangers have shuffled their group to get to their actual game roster for tonight’s season opener against the Penguins. As expected, William Cuylle, Adam Edstrom, Victor Mancini, and Matt Rempe were recalled from AHL Hartford yesterday, making the team in effect, reports Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. Five players – forwards Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, and Adam Sýkora, as well as defensemen Ben Harpur and Matthew Robertson, were sent down to create roster and cap space.
The Rangers opened up a roster spot with the moves, but that’s not why they made them. Having the extra salary on the technical opening night roster allowed them to maximize their capture when placing winger Jimmy Vesey and his $800K cap hit on long-term injured reserve. They now have $792K in their season-opening LTIR pool, per PuckPedia. After yesterday’s moves, they’re sitting with north of $600K in cap space.
All four of yesterday’s recalls are expected to slide into the lineup against Pittsburgh tonight. Veteran Jonny Brodzinski appears to be on the outside looking in as the 13th forward to start the year, while Mancini will slide in for Ryan Lindgren, who’s on IR with an upper-body injury. It’ll be his NHL debut.
It’s an impressive feat for Mancini, who appears to have usurped veteran No. 7 option Chad Ruhwedel in the pecking order, at least for now. He’s also pushed himself up on the Blueshirts’ depth chart past other veteran defensive depth options with NHL experience like the aforementioned Harpur. The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick just two years ago out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where the 6’4″, 220-lb stay-at-home defender had four goals and 23 points in 110 games with a +4 rating. He’s entering his first full season of pro hockey but did close out last year with six assists in 17 combined regular-season and playoff games for Hartford.
Edstrom, listed at 6’6″, and Rempe, listed at 6’9″, are back to reprise their roles on one of the tallest combined forward lines in league history. They got spot duty together last season when they were both on the roster, getting seven games of action flanking Barclay Goodrow. The line has lost a couple of inches with the 6’2″ Goodrow now replaced by a 6’0″ Sam Carrick, but an opening night look is still promising for the younger duo of Edstrom and Rempe.
Edstrom, 24 on Saturday, had two goals in his first 11 NHL appearances last year. Rempe, meanwhile, scored a goal and an assist in 17 games. Only the 22-year-old Rempe saw playoff action, though, drawing into 11 of New York’s 16 postseason games en route to the Eastern Conference Final.
Cuylle was always a near-lock to make the team, only being sent down briefly for cap purposes, as mentioned earlier. The 22-year-old left winger had a promising rookie season in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 81 games while averaging 11:08 per game. He played a frequent third-line role at even strength but received little to no special teams usage. The 6’3″, 212-lb former second-rounder also finished fourth on the team in PIMs (56), tied for sixth in even-strength goals (12), and led them in hits (249).
Rangers Recall 13 Players
With the Rangers seeing their AHL team eliminated in the Atlantic Division Finals earlier this week, they were free to recall some players to the big club to serve as their ‘Black Aces’ squad. After taking a few days, they’ve made their choices on who to bring up. AHL Hartford announced that the Rangers have promoted goaltender Dylan Garand, defensemen Ben Harpur, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, Matthew Robertson, and Brandon Scanlin, and forwards Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick, and Adam Sykora from the Wolf Pack.
Garand was briefly up with the Rangers earlier in the playoffs when third-stringer Louis Domingue was unavailable but didn’t see any game action. The 21-year-old didn’t have a particularly strong regular season with a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in 39 regular season games but was quite sharp in the playoffs, improving those numbers to 2.59 and .922 respectively in nine appearances.
Among the blueliners, only Mackey and Scanlin saw action with the Rangers during the regular season, getting into one game apiece; one of them would likely be the first from this group to get the call to play if necessary. Harpur has the most experience with 198 career appearances (including 42 with New York in 2022-23) but missed most of the season due to injury which likely takes him off the table. Mancini, meanwhile, is eligible to practice but not play as his entry-level contract doesn’t officially begin until next season.
As for the forwards, all but Belzile, Berard, and Sykora got into at least one NHL contest in 2023-24. Pitlick led the way on that front with 34 appearances but was limited to just a goal and three assists while averaging a little over 10 minutes a night. That said, he’d be the safest player to put in the lineup if necessary given his familiarity. Othmann is one of their top prospects and had a strong year in Hartford with 49 points in 67 games. While it would be riskier to put him in, his style of play fits in with the physicality of the postseason while Othmann could provide some potential offensive upside if Peter Laviolette has to shake things up.
Rangers Sign Victor Mancini To Entry-Level Contract
The New York Rangers have announced that they’ve signed defenseman Victor Mancini to a two-year, entry-level contract (Web link). Mancini signs after his junior season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, having spent all three years of college with the Mavericks. New York originally drafted the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, his final season of draft eligibility.
Mancini is the son of Robert Mancini, who has served in roles across the hockey world – including a long career of NCAA coaching, three years as the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, multiple years in the Edmonton Oilers’ scout and development room, representing USA Hockey internationally, and serving as the head coach of South Africa and Romania’s World Championship team. Robert most recently served as the head coach of USA’s U17 team in 2021.
Maybe because of his father’s own journeyman career, Mancini has played across the hockey world. His youth hockey career ended with the Little Caesars program in Detroit, where he also played in a handful of games with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Rather than continue in U.S. junior hockey in the subsequent season, Mancini instead took his talents to Sweden, playing two seasons with Frölunda HC’s affiliate teams and even serving as captain of their U20 team in 2020-21. Mancini returned to America at the tail end of that season, playing in 33 games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, and moving to Nebraska in 2021-22.
Mancini, 21, is a rangy, right-shot defenseman with the powerful skating, hard passing, and vision needed to push his team up the ice. His long reach also keeps him effective on the defensive side of the puck, with Mancini doing well at keeping opponents to the outside. He served in a top role for Nebraska-Omaha this season, averaging nearly 21 minutes each game and serving on both special teams. He showed great prowess as a play-driver, though high-scoring has never been his groove – with Mancini managing just 23 points in 110 collegiate games. He’ll now move to the pro scene for the first time in his career, bolstering an already-deep Rangers defense room and returning the Mancini family back to the NHL level.