When it comes to trying to label the worst trade in NHL history, there are plenty of bad trades to choose from. So too, the criteria for what makes a trade the worst may change depending on perspective. However, on the DFO Rundown podcast, NHL insider and host Jeff Marek didn’t tiptoe around declaring a trade between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks the worst ever.
Marek went straight for the jugular, calling the January 31, 2025, trade that sent J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers “the worst trade in the history of the NHL.”
What Makes This Trade The Worst in NHL History?
Marek likely knew his take would be debated. However, he was basing his opinion on one clear difference — it was a trade that completely sabotaged both teams.
He was not arguing that the deal was the most lopsided in NHL history. He wasn’t trying to say this trade was the most regrettable. It was the worst, simply because both teams have plummeted down the standings since making it. As a result, both franchises have decided to rebuild, and the Miller trade seems to have been the catalyst.
In other words, Marek ranked this the worst because of the fallout. In his view, this deal didn’t just fail one franchise; it actively derailed two. “The Rangers are worse since getting him. The Vancouver Canucks are worse since letting him go,” Marek said. He argued that he couldn’t think of a worse one.
Why Has the Trade Been So Disastrous for Both Teams?
At the time, the move felt like a reset button for both the Canucks and Miller. Vancouver was dealing with a very public fracture between Miller and Elias Pettersson, so they sent Miller to New York. It was the Rangers who were frontrunners all along, and it was clear they badly wanted him, despite the rumors that he was a huge problem in the locker room.
As our own Lukas Bernasiewicz put it:
“Time and time again, Miller has shown that he is not someone who can be counted upon to lead a team. He showed that multiple times in Vancouver and recently in New York, when asked about what his team needs to do over the Olympic break to regroup. “I literally don’t know,” he said. “Come back with a better mindset, I guess.”
The Canucks knew they were shipping out a problem. The Rangers should have known they were receiving one. The dominoes that followed continue to fall to this day.
The Canucks flipped some of what they acquired and locked in one of those pieces, Marcus Pettersson, to a six-year extension. On paper, it looked like a clean break and a calculated retool. The Canucks finished 38-30-14 in 2024-25 but are 18-33-6 this season. One of the pieces they acquired from Filip Chytil has long-standing injury concerns, and they recently traded away what is arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, Quinn Hughes.
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Things in New York haven’t been much prettier.
The Rangers acquired Miller, hoping his edge, production, and leadership would pull them out of a post- Presidents’ Trophy slump. Instead, the team cratered. They weren’t great at the end of the 2024-25 season, and they’ve been worse in 2025-26. Currently 22-29-6, they are headed for an uncomfortable “retool”. Miller, who was handed the captaincy, has been anything but a leader, and whispers about locker-room tension have followed him most of the season. The team is selling, and just recently moved Artemi Panarin. More is coming.
Do Other Trades Even Come Close to Being This Bad?
Based on Marek’s criteria, he might be right. If being able to label something the worst trade in NHL history depends on how it impacted both teams, this one is up there.
Some fans pointed to Cam Neely being dealt to Boston. Others brought up the infamous Phil Esposito trade, and others talked about the Matthew Tkachuk trade to Florida. In those cases, it was really one team that suffered, and far more than the other.
If mutual destruction is the bar for what makes a trade the worst, the Rangers and Canucks may have set a new standard. There has been no clear upside in sight for either team, and what’s coming next looks troubling.
