New Rangers captain J.T. Miller leads by example, ‘drags people into it’
From the day the New York Rangers re-acquired J.T. Miller last season, it was widely speculated he’d be their next captain. That came to fruition Tuesday, when Miller officially was named the 29th captain in franchise history.
And it’s crystal clear that general manager Chris Drury believes he and coach Mike Sullivan picked the right guy to wear the C. Just as Drury believed Miller was the perfect player to foster needed change on the ice and in the Rangers dressing room when they landed him in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks last January.
“He goes over the boards looking to get into the fight, and he drags people into it,” Drury explained Wednesday at the start of training camp. “That’s what we need.”
The Rangers were without a captain and in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history when Miller arrived Jan. 31. Jacob Trouba had been traded to the Anaheim Ducks six weeks earlier, with no replacement named to wear the C.
Even with Miller recording 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games down the stretch and playing with his typical fire and snarl, the Rangers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
Miller’s leadership the final final three months of the season was quite evident, though. That doesn’t mean it was a quick and easy decision to name him captain. Sullivan and Drury did their due diligence this summer
“Chris and I went through an extensive process in making this decision,” Sullivan stated firmly. “This wasn’t something that was made off the cuff. This was an important decision for our group.”
Drury said that he and the new coach agreed having a captain was important for the Rangers. But they weren’t going to force the issue
“If we didn’t have the right person, we just weren’t going to name anybody just to say we have a C,” the GM explained. “We felt like we had a lot of good choices and J.T. rose to the top of that list for us and we’re thrilled to have him as our captain.”
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The Rangers hierarchy also was in agreement that having the captaincy question hanging over Sullivan’s first camp with the Rangers made no sense. So, they decided to make their choice and announce it before training camp started.
“We thought it was perfect time to do it, obviously, right before the start of camp, and didn’t really have any interest in starting camp without one,” Drury said. “We obviously thought he was a terrific choice, just the way he he prepares, he plays, how hard he competes.”
Perhaps Sullivan could’ve benefitted from getting to know the leaders better and watching them up close in camp before making a final decision. But the coach sounded completely on board with how the process played out. Especially because he spent much of the summer talking with members of the leadership group and believes that Miller’s role will be a shared responsibility.
“I certainly offered my insights to the conversation. But obviously, Chris has been with these guys for a long time. Nobody knows them better than him, and the impact these guys have on each other and on the room,” Sullivan said.
“We feel comfortable with J.T. being the captain of the team, but by no means does it end there. We feel that we have a strong leadership group and it’s the responsibility of all of us, ourselves included, to enhance that leadership and spread that leadership around.”
That leadership group includes four alternates — Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Mike Zibanejad. All but Trocheck wore letters a year ago.
Drury was asked if the Rangers considered going with two alternate captains instead of four.
“We weren’t in the position and certainly didn’t have any interest in taking an A away from any of those players,” Drury explained. “We think they’re good leaders, and we thought ‘Troch’ deserved one. He’s someone I’ve leaned on heavily here since we got him and there’s no doubt in my mind he’s worthy of joining that group and getting an A.”
Trocheck took on a bigger front-facing leadership role last season after the Trouba trade. He’s also a hard-nosed, passionate player, and friends with Miller since they were kids.
Many wondered if Trocheck was going to get the C instead of his buddy. But Sullivan made it clear that the Rangers believe they picked the right guy.
“We think J.T. is a great selection,” the coach said. “He represents in so many ways what we hope Rangers hockey’s going to look like with the way he plays the game. He’s a fierce competitor. And he’s a good person.”
