New Year's Resolutions are cool and all, but there's a reason we so often pick the same ones year after year. They tend to be lofty, vague, and just unreachable
Boy, things escalated in Vancouver quickly, didn't they? The rumor mill has been spinning at light speed since the gossip surrounding the frosty relationship…
NHL Rumors: Rangers' Trade Offer of Mika Zibanejad for JT Miller Rejected by Canucks
Jan 7, 2025
VANCOUVER, CANADA - JANUARY 3: J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a shot during warmup before their NHL game against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on January 3, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Vancouver Canucks reportedly turned down an offer from the New York Rangers to trade Mika Zibanejad for J.T. Miller earlier this season, according to The Athletic's Josh Yohe.
The Rangers offered up a one-for-one of former teammates to Vancouver but the Canucks said no 👀
Both Miller and Zibanejad hold a no-move clauses. Even if the Canucks had pursued the trade, both players would have had to agree to the swap.
Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos did recently report he believes Miller would be willing to waive his no-move clause in order to go to the Rangers.
Despite a goalscoring slump Miller is having the more productive season of the pair, with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 29 contests. Zibanejad has meanwhile recorded 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) while skating in ten more games.
Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been open about his willingness to trade core players this season. Drury went so far as to send a memo to all 31 teams advertising the availability of roster members in November, as reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and confirmed by multiplesources.
The Rangers have since traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and forward Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.
Those deals have yet to spark a resurgence for a team that went into the season expecting to be a playoff contender. The Rangers headed into the New Year outside of the playoff bubble and trailing only the Buffalo Sabres for the most regulation losses (20) in the Eastern Conference.
The Canucks are looking for a deadline shakeup of their own, according to Friedman. The NHL insider recently said on an episode of The FAN Hockey Show that tension between Miller and Canucks forward Elias Pettersson "has begun to spill over elsewhere into the organization."
Pettersson does not have a no-trade clause, although his contract will present a challenge should the Canucks decide to turn to a trade to resolve the reported split. The forward is in the first year of an eight-year, $92.8 million deal that has him set to remain on the books through the 2031-32 season.
The Canucks and Rangers both made it to the second round last season, with the Rangers getting as far as the Eastern Conference Final. Given that neither team currently looks on track for a deeper run, there's still a chance they could look to shake things up by moving Miller or Zibanejad before the March 7 trade deadline.
Man Charged with Killing Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau Pleads Not Guilty
Jan 7, 2025
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 21: The Columbus Blue Jackets wearing the number thirteen on their jerseys this season in honor of the late Johnny Gaudreau during an NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 21, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
The man charged with killing Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday.
According to Maryclaire Dale of the Associated Press, prosecutors offered Sean M. Higgins a deal that carried a 35-year prison sentence. His not-guilty plea sets the stage for a trial.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were struck and killed while riding bicycles in New Jersey in August. Their sister's wedding was the following day.
In December, a grand jury indicted Higgins on two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Prosecutors allege that Higgins sped up to pass two cars on a stretch of County Route 551 in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Unable to pass on the left, he attempted to overtake them on the right and hit the Gaudreaus.
Higgins told police at the scene he had consumed around five or six beers on the day of the crash and consumed some while he had been driving. His blood alcohol level was measured at .087 percent, above the legal limit.
Police said Higgins also "had a history of road rage," per Dale.
A guilty conviction on the two manslaughter charges would carry prison sentences of up to 30 years for each charge. Higgins' next court date is Feb. 4.
The final month
of 2024 was a busy one for NHL trades. Eight deals were made in
December 2024, with several noteworthy players changing teams Among…
Would a J.T. Miller Trade Fix the Rangers' Problems at Center?
Jan 6, 2025
NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 23: J.T. Miller #10 of the New York Rangers plays the puck during the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on February 23, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
With the Rangers struggling for months now, there is general alignment on what—and who—are the problems. Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko were merely the early departures in what is expected to be a mass exodus for a roster that has largely stayed the same the last few seasons.
Assigning blame and tearing down the walls is the easy part of a roster restructuring. The Rangers aren't headed for a rebuild but this is a team missing key pieces at prominent positions. Mika Zibanejad's sharp decline and Vincent Trocheck's return to reality leave Head Coach Peter Laviolette with zero answers at first-line center. Solutions are hard to come by. There aren't many high-caliber centers and the teams that have them don't typically let them get away.
The Rangers may hope that the answer to turbulence in Manhattan may be friction elsewhere. General Manager Chris Drury has been after J.T. Miller for multiple years. A fracture between Miller and Elias Pettersson has made things uncomfortable in Vancouver and the Canucks may be forced to deal one or the other.
Now, a return to New York for Miller feels like a possibility rather than a daydream. The 31-year-old would undoubtedly be a big swing on talent and would change the locker room dynamic. But is Miller a true solution as a first-line center? Under what conditions would a move make sense for the Rangers?
J.T. Miller with the Rangers in 2016.
What Miller Could Bring to the Rangers
Miller is one of the best offensive producers in the league. Over the previous three seasons, he ranked 10th among all NHLers by points, with 285 in 242 games.
The American is dynamic with the puck in the offensive zone. A dual threat who leans playmaker, Miller is at his best when he's making plays in motion. What the Rangers presumably like, though, is that he is not only a perimeter player. Yes, Miller can create from the outside, but he also has no problems crashing the net and fighting for ugly goals. He finds rebounds and deflections.
With Chris Kreider off his game and potentially on the way out, the Rangers could use some more chaos from a high-caliber player around the net front. In those regards, Miller does match first-line billing.
He undoubtedly would bring a different type of persona to a Rangers locker room that has gone stale. Miller is very vocal and carries himself with a certain arrogance that, in the right moments, can bring life to an arena. Even when the Rangers were at their best last season, the makeup of team leadership was calm and quiet, even if confident. Now that everyone's gone downhill without much pushback from team leadership, there is room for someone who could come in and shake things up.
Different Player, Same Problems?
A "grass is always greener" dynamic is at full throttle among the New York fanbase at the moment where seemingly every player in-house is irredeemable and any big addition who would shake up the status quo is, therefore, perceived as a solution.
In reality, it's not clear that Miller would change too much about what's wrong in New York. The best version of this team, such as the one that won the Presidents' Trophy last season, is still a heavily flawed one in critical areas. They are on their heels at five-on-five. They struggle to move play into the offensive zone and bleed chances defensively. The team lacked a true marquee first-line center who could anchor the team in most areas of the game.
Miller may have been 10th in points the previous three seasons, but 43.1 percent of that production came on the power play. At five-on-five, Miller drops down to 33rd among all NHLers over that span. Keep in mind, too, that he created much of that offense either in Elias Pettersson's shadow as a second-line center or shifted to the wing.
J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.
Miller fits much of the Rangers' already existing profile, too, in that he is an offensive zone creator rather than a significant driver of play. He is fantastic at generating offense past the blue line, and his cycle offense may indeed bring something new to a one-and-done group in New York, but he's nothing special in terms of helping his team establish possession in the offensive zone in the first place. The Rangers are desperate for excellence in terms of winning possession on the forecheck, creating zone entries, or retrieving pucks and establishing the breakout. Miller has varying degrees of competency in those areas but he's nowhere close to a focal point in any.
The biggest worry, though, has to be Miller's defensive game. At his best moments, he merely keeps his head above water. More often, he is a net-negative defensively. Maybe Miller can give the Rangers first-line firepower offensively but gives the Rangers similar issues as they have had with Zibanejad when it came with trying to match a Sasha Barkov or shut down a Jack Hughes.
A Volatile Player for an Uncertain Environment
And this all supposes a highly functioning Miller. Rangers fans have harangued Mika Zibanejad for being seemingly disengaged and completely absent at five-on-five, and that's mostly fair. But what of Miller this season? He has just one goal at even strength this season and seven total points at five-on-five in his last 20 games.
Inconsistencies have plagued Miller his whole career and that dial has been turned up to maximum this season. He's prone to lackadaisical or unfocused shifts with either haphhazard attention to defensive duties or careless turnovers in vulnerable spots.
J.T. Miller (#9) daydreaming like this is not going to help the tensions in Vancouver. pic.twitter.com/eoFvzyaohf
And of course, the entire reason Vancouver might trade him is because of irreconcilable differences in the locker room. Miller may inject some passion into a very vanilla Rangers locker room. Or, he could be a headache in an already uneasy team atmosphere.
A Fit for New York... in Certain Circumstances
Looking for a cure-all solution to the Rangers' catastrophic collapse is a futile task. The problems are widespread and deep to the degree that one player cannot come in and fix them alone.
At the same time, this is a team with finite resources. Management has a handful of attractive pieces to move in the way of roster players and prospects and somewhat limited draft capital. If Drury is going to empty the coffers, he cannot afford to get anything less than a franchise-changing player.
It's hard to envision Miller as that player. He comes with major question marks that, even if answered favorably, paint him more as an opportunistic offensive producer rather than a first-line center that Stanley Cup teams are accustomed to in the forms of either elite offensive play drivers or 200-foot bulls.
What's more, the big-picture worry for the Rangers is that their contention window is rapidly closing and they are tied to players with big cap hits whose declines are either here or imminent. Miller is a soon-to-be 32-year-old who holds an $8.5 million cap hit through 2030. To the extent that he addresses that problem for the Rangers, it's only by kicking the can down the road a year or two.
If the Rangers can convince Vancouver to swap problems then a move could make a lot of sense. Maybe Zibanejad would welcome a fresh start and a chance to become a second-line center behind Pettersson in Vancouver. In such a case, taking a chance on Miller bringing new life to the Rangers suddenly looks very appealing.
Mika Zibanejad.
If nothing else, Miller's contract would offer the Rangers more flexibility down the road. Both carry the same $8.5 million cap hit for five more seasons. But whereas Zibanejad has full trade protection until the 2030 trade deadline, Miller's full no-trade clause turns into a 15-team no-trade clause in July 2027. Furthermore, Miller's contract is far less laden with signing bonuses, making him a buyout option down the line, whereas Zibenajad's contract is virtually buyout-proof.
Miller's full control of his destiny at the current moment may too benefit the Rangers. If the atmosphere in Vancouver becomes untenable and the Rangers are the only true suitor for whom Miller is willing to waive his protection, the Blueshirts may be able to acquire him without giving up too many significant assets. If a Miller trade leaves the Rangers with enough key trade pieces remaining to pursue other much-needed additions, then he's certainly worth the gamble on talent. There are certain scenarios in which a Miller trade makes a whole lot of sense for New York.
Overall, though, Miller alone is not enough to overcome the Rangers' bevy of issues or even their need for a true marquee first-line center for the long term. If he is Drury's idea of the big fix to the team's foundation worth moving the house for, then it will only serve to exacerbate the team's decline to longer-term irrelevancy.
The first question I always ask myself about prospect opinions post-World Juniors is: Does this build on what I've seen from this player before, or is it just…
USA Beats Finland in OT to Win Gold 2025 World Junior Hockey Championship Bracket
Jan 6, 2025
OTTAWA, CANADA - JANUARY 05: Cole Hutson #24 of Team USA celebrates his goal with teammates Ryan Leonard #9, Brandon Svoboda #8, Zeev Buium #28 and Gabe Perreault #34 in the second period against Team Finland of the gold medal game during the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre on January 5, 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Team USA has won back-to-back World Juniors championships for the first time thanks to overtime heroics from Teddy Stiga.
The Boston College forward and Nashville Predators draft pick scored eight minutes into Sunday's overtime to seal USA's 4-3 overtime win over Finland.
Earlier Sunday night, Finland had put the Americans on the back foot thanks to a first-period go-ahead goal from Tuomas Uronen of the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs.
Uronen's OHL teammate, defenseman Emil Pieniniemi, opened the second-period scoring to extend Finland's lead.
There was only one penalty called in regulation, with the officials essentially putting away their whistles after Finland opened scoring with a first-period power play goal.
Neither team could break through in the third period, leaving it up to 3-on-3 overtime to decide the gold medal winner.
Rimpinen was the first hero of the extra frame. He robbed Brodie Ziemer on a point-blank scoring opportunity three minutes in to keep Finland in the game.
Stiga finally broke through to help Team USA claim consecutive World Juniors titles for the first time in history.
The Americans celebrated the historic win with a jersey honoring late Team USA star Johnny Gaudreau hanging by the bench, per FloHockey's Chris Peters.
USA has Johnny Gaudreau's USA jersey hanging by their bench right now. It's been in their dressing room the whole tournament.
The win capped off a stellar tournament for Boston University defenseman and Washington Capitals draft pick Cole Hutson, who set a record for American defensemen with 11 tournament points.
Tournament point leaders:
• Cole Hutson 11 • Jakub Stancl 10 • Ryan Leonard 10 • Axel Sandin-Pellikka 10 • Felix Unger Sorum 10
Hutson is the first defenseman to ever outright lead the WJC in scoring
Hutson wasn't the only Capitals prospect who shone in Ottawa. BC winger Ryan Leonard, part of Team USA for both gold medal runs, earned the title of tournament MVP after recording five goals in seven games and assisting twice in the championship win.
Team USA's win capped off a busy day of extra-time thrillers in Ottawa. Czechia defeated Sweden in a shootout earlier Sunday to claim bronze with a 3-2 victory.
World Junior Hockey Championship 2025: Semifinal Bracket Scores and Results
Jan 5, 2025
OTTAWA, CANADA - JANUARY 04: Gabe Perreault #34 of Team USA celebrates his goal with teammates James Hagens #12 and Ryan Leonard #9 in the first period against Team Czechia of the semifinal match during the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre on January 4, 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The United States and Finland will meet in the World Junior Hockey Championship final after earning hard-fought semifinal victories on Saturday in Ottawa, Canada.
The United States beat Czechia, 3-1, and Finland took down Sweden, 4-3.
The Americans are shooting for back-to-back championships (and their third in five years) after an impressive win. Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault each had a goal and an assist, while defenseman Aram Minnetian added two helpers.
All three combined for the United States' first goal, with Perrault scoring after Leonard and Minnetian's assists 3:14 into the first period.
Leonard did a phenomenal job even getting the puck to Perrault, chipping the puck to himself off the boards to avoid a defender and then sliding a pass to his waiting teammate while falling to the ice.
The U.S. took the lead for good 13:41 into the second period thanks to Cole Eiserman's power play goal. It was a one-time sniper following a Trevor Connelly pass.
A tense third period ensued, with both teams going on the power play but finding themselves unable to break through.
The United States finally did at even strength, though, with 4:27 left in the third period. Minnetian found Perreault on an impressive lead pass, and then Perreault found Leonard at the net for a one-timer.
Oliver Moore added an empty-net goal with 1:07 left, sealing the United States' win.
Earlier in the afternoon, Finland earned a 4-3 overtime victory over Sweden. Benjamin Rautiainen scored a power play goal with 38 seconds remaining in the three-on-three OT period.
Konsta Helenius assisted on all four Finland goals. Emil Hemming added a goal and an assist. Goalie Petteri Rimpinen added 43 saves.
The difference in this game was Finland's efforts on the power play. Officially, they scored two goals with the extra man, but Hemming's goal occurred literally one second after his team's power play ended.
A scoreless first period preceded a five-goal second period that ended with Finland winning 3-2. Finland outshot 20-10 in the frame.
Sweden center Otto Stenberg scored the first of his two goals 1:22 into the second period.
With 21 seconds remaining in the second period, Arttu Alasiurua potted Finland's third goal of the period, warding off a defender and using adept stick-handling to give his team the edge.
Sweden wouldn't go away quietly, though, as Wilhelm Hallquisth's shot from the blue line deflected in off the goalie with 8:28 remaining in regulation.
Rimpinen had an outstanding period otherwise, though, turning aside 19 of 20 Swedish shots. In other words, Sweden averaged a shot on goal per minute in the third.
This game looked destined for a shootout as time wound down in OT, but Rautiainen made sure that didn't happen.
Finland is now searching for its sixth junior championship and first since 2019. As for Sweden, it's another heartbreaking loss for a team that's dominated the tournament for decades but only has two junior titles (and one in the last 44 years) to show for it.
The United States and Finland will face off for gold at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. Sweden and Czechia will play for bronze at 3:30 p.m. earlier in the day.
It's a new
year as the calendar has flipped to 2025, putting us almost halfway
through the 2024-25 NHL season. This is a good opportunity to review
and…
