Rangers Daily: J.T. Miller ‘expiry date;’ Sidney Crosby injured
Let’s be straight here. It’s been a wickedly difficult and disappointing season for J.T. Miller, who’s as much the face of the 2025-26 New York Rangers collapse, as Mika Zibanejad was last season, when the Blueshirts first crashed and burned, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years.
The Rangers can only hope that Miller rebounds as well as Zibanejad did. To his credit, Zibanejad picked himself up, shook off last season’s anguish, and been the Rangers best player — a 200-foot- force — this season.
Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 32 goals, 69 points, and 15 power-play goals. He’s helped revive Alexis Lafreniere’s flagging career and moved into fourth place on the Rangers’ all-time goal-scoring list. Earlier this week, the Rangers and their fans enthusiastically saluted the 32-year-old for playing his 1,000th NHL game.
Can Miller, who’ll be 33 for the 2026-27 season, replicate Zibanejad’s turnaround? We’ll find out soon enough. But it’s clear that there are many doubters out there, and NHL talk-show host Nick Alberga is right near the top of that list.
“In the past, during my time on NHL Network Radio, we’d ask the questions: ‘Why do these teams keep trading J.T. Miller?’ So, the conversation for me started like 10 years ago … if he’s such a beloved leader and figure-head in the room, why are teams always looking to move on from J.T. Miller? I think he comes with an expiry date,” Alberga told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast.
True, Miller was traded by the Rangers, then the Tampa Bay Lightning, and finally, last season, from the Vancouver Canucks back to the Blueshirts. That deal was forced by untenable relations between Miller and fellow star forward Elias Pettersson.
Miller’s homecoming got off to a good start. He had 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games after the trade, and the Rangers named him their 29th captain ahead of this — their centennial — season.
Injuries, poor production (42 points in 58 games), and team-wide failure have many Rangers loyalists down on Miller, who has four years at $8 million per remaining on his contract. He also has a no-move clause next season, which changes to a 15-team no-trade list the following three years.
“There was this perception that J.T. Miller is this larger than life leader and has this persona and aura to him, and he hasn’t dragged this New York Rangers team into the fight,” Alberga stated. “I think he’s been banged up for the majority of the season, but he has not been good. It starts with your play on the ice. … He hasn’t played like one of the better, or higher-paid, players on that roster.”
A key part of this Rangers retool is having their captain be the best version of himself next season. But canhe flip the switch like Zibanejad did?
He’ll surely have plenty of motivation to do so.
Rangers news and analysis
Though not high on Miller, Alberga does believe the Rangers have a better chance to turn things around quicker than the flailing Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mike Sullivan wasn’t exactly thrilled to be asked about the Rangers being eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention the other night.
That said, the Rangers showed some positive signs, and played with the right “intentions,” in that 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Our Jess Rubenstein provides a scout’s perspective on three Rangers prospects in the OHL: Nathan Aspinall, Artem Gonchar, and Liam Greentree.
ICYMI: Lou Orlando broke down Peter Laviolette’s recent comments about the Rangers, and last season was a “much tougher battle” for all involved than in 2023-24.
NHL news and rumors
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Oh boy, Sidney Crosby is injured again. The Penguins captain sustained a lower-body injury and was forced from their game against the Ottawa Senators, less than two weeks after returning from a knee injury.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: To their credit, the Penguins persevered again, knocking off the Senators in the shootout to move into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Penguins passed the Columbus Blue Jackets in the standings with the help of the Montreal Canadiens, who boosted their own playoff positioning with a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
New York Post: The Islanders are back in the Eastern Conference second wild card after edging the Dallas Stars 2-1.
Florida Hockey Now: Even now that they’re out of the playoff picture, the Panthers keep getting bad injury news. Earlier this week, Anton Lundell was shut down. Then Thursday night, forward Evan Rodrigues sustained a broken finger, and likely could be done for the season.
Daily Faceoff: Alex Ovechkin recorded his 34th hat trick, and moved into fourth place in NHL history, when the Washington Capitals defeated the Utah Mammoth 7-4.
TSN: That was a pretty important overtime win for the Edmonton Oilers over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
