When it comes to labeling the worst trade in NHL history, there are plenty of bad trades to choose from. This also applies to the criteria that determine what makes a transaction the worst, depending on the perspective. However, on the DFO overview podcastNHL insider and presenter Jeff Marek made no bones about it and declared a transaction between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks the worst ever.
Marek went straight for the collar, calling the Jan. 31, 2025 trade that sent JT Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers “the worst trade in NHL history.”
What makes this trade the worst in NHL history?
Marek probably knew his position would be debated. However, he based his opinion on one clear difference: it was a trade that completely sabotaged both teams.
He didn’t claim the deal was the most lopsided deal in NHL history. He wasn’t trying to say that this transaction was the most regrettable. It was the worst, simply because both teams have fallen in the standings since then. As a result, both franchises have decided to rebuild, and the Miller trade appears to have been the catalyst.
In other words, Marek called this the worst because of the consequences. According to him, this deal didn’t just fail one franchise; it actively derailed two. “The Rangers have been worse since they acquired him. The Vancouver Canucks have been worse since they let him go,” Marek said. He claimed he couldn’t think of a worse situation.
Why was the trade 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 rift between Miller and Elias Pettersson, so they sent Miller to New York. It was Rangers who were the frontrunners all along, and it was clear they really wanted him, despite the rumors that he was a major problem in the dressing room.
As our own Lukas Bernasiewicz put it:
“Time and time again, Miller has shown that he is not someone who can be counted on to lead a team. He has shown that several times in Vancouver and most recently in New York, when asked what his team should do during the Olympic break to regroup. “I literally don’t know,” he said. “Come back with a better mentality, I think.”
The Canucks knew they had a problem. The Rangers should have known they were receiving one. The dominoes that followed continue to fall to this day.
The Canucks turned around some of what they acquired and signed one of those pieces, Marcus Pettersson, to a six-year extension. On paper, it seemed like a clean break and a calculated realignment. 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 arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, Quinn Hughes.
Related: NHL Rumors: Kraken Not Done, Oilers One-for-One Swap, Rangers Friction
Things haven’t been much better in New York.
The Rangers acquired Miller, hoping his upside, production and leadership would pull them out of their post-Presidents’ Trophy slump. Instead, the team collapsed. They weren’t great at the end of the 2024-25 season, and they were even worse in 2025-26. Currently, 22-29-6, they are headed for an awkward “retool”. Miller, who was given the captain’s armband, has been anything but a leader, and whispers of tension in the dressing room have followed him for most of the season. The team is selling and recently moved Artemi Panarin. There’s more to come.
Do other trades even come close to this bad situation?
Based on Marek’s criteria, he could be right. If being able to label something as the worst trade in NHL history comes down to the impact it had on both teams, this one ranks at the top.
Some fans pointed out that Cam Neely was sent 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, much more than the other.
If mutual destruction is the benchmark for what makes a trade the worst, the Rangers and Canucks may have set a new standard. There’s no clear advantage in sight for either team, and what happens next looks worrying.
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