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BOSTON — This was not a one-shot deal, not by a long shot. J.T. Miller was not acquired to serve as a short-term band-aid.
If the five years remaining on the nearly 32-year-old’s contract at an average annual value of $8 million didn’t tell you that, then Chris Drury, the general manager who pulled off the deal with Vancouver, did exactly that hours in advance of Saturday afternoon’s match against the Bruins.
“It is certainly an exciting day and was an exciting night to acquire J.T. Miller, certainly one of the premier impact forwards in the NHL,” Drury said in a conference call with reporters. “[He] brings a unique combination of skill, size and physicality to our team, and not just helps us here in the short term but will be a key part of our core moving forward.”
Miller — acquired as the centerpiece of the deal in which Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a protected first-rounder went to Vancouver — slipped into the Rangers colors for the first time since Feb. 25, 2018, when he scored a goal against the Red Wings at the Garden a day before he was traded to Tampa Bay in the ill-fated deal that included Ryan McDonagh.
The Rangers, by the way, were on their charter flight to Vancouver when the deal was completed on that deadline day. Miller was told of his fate when the flight landed.
What goes around comes around, isn’t that what Mark Messier said one time?
Miller is expected to fill in many of the emotional blanks the Rangers that has impaired the team this trying season. He is a straight-ahead guy. There’s not a lot of gray to his game or his personality. The dynamic will change.
“I think he’s going to have a terrific impact, not only on the ice but in our room,” Drury said. “And not only for the remainder of this year but moving forward as a big piece of our core.
“As you all know, he’s a terrific 200-foot player, plays both sides of the puck, [plays] both special teams, has a physical element and has a high level of compete that we’re excited to bring to our group.”
Miller, who will wear No. 8 this time around and not his original No. 10 that now belongs to Artemi Panarin, finished 11th in the Hart Trophy voting for MVP a year ago off a 37-goal, 66-assist, 103-point season.
But issues arose this season, Miller took a leave of absence during November. His feud with teammate Elias Pettersson — the origins of which are unknown — became public and apparently insoluble. The Canucks needed to move on. Miller, who had a full no-move clause, was in control.
Operating out of a position of weakness, Vancouver made the move that will benefit the Rangers.
“We certainly have done a lot of homework on that situation and on J.T.,” Drury said. “We do have history with him, obviously having drafted him and having been a Ranger, so we felt comfortable doing the deal.
“Obviously I’m not in the dressing room or part of their organization but we wouldn’t have done the deal if we didn’t feel comfortable as to what he’s going to bring us on and off the ice.”
Miller joins a team that includes one of his longest and best friends, Vincent Trocheck. They have been close since they grew up together as youth hockey players around the Pittsburgh area. Drury said he spoke to Trocheck before pulling the deal.
“As part of the due diligence we talked to a lot of people,” Drury said. “You know that Vincent and J.T. have a friendship, and I’m not going to get into the private discussions but Troch was one of the places we did some homework with, for sure.”
The Rangers project to have $16.5M in cap space at the deadline. There is the expectation that Drury is not done making changes to the roster. These moves may be of a shorter-term variety.
The GM’s moves will be dictated by results both leading to the deadline and to the two-week Four Nations break that starts on Feb. 9. Five games — including Saturday’s — precede the tournament in which Miller will join Trocheck, Adam Fox and Chris Kreider on Team USA.
“I’m excited to see J.T. getting into our lineup to see what we can do before the break,” Drury said. “I’m always exploring ways how we could be better.
“We’ll continue to do so into the break and the deadline.”
