What’s next for Rangers after J.T. Miller lands on IR with upper-body injury
Trying to ensure that they don’t ice a short-handed lineup again, the New York Rangers placed J.T. Miller on injured reserve Monday and recalled forward Brett Berard from Hartford of the American Hockey League.
The night before, the Rangers dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen in a 2-1 loss to the Predators in Nashville because three of their forwards couldn’t play. Miller missed his first game after sustaining an upper-body injury during a 5-4 shootout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday; Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe were late scratched due to illness.
So, in the short term, Berard gives the Rangers another forward option for their road game Tuesday against the Washington Capitals. To make room for him on the roster, the Rangers had to place Miller on IR.
Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen dressed, but only played five shifts against the Predators. That basically left the Rangers short-handed, since coach Mike Sullivan utilized only 17 skaters instead of 18, plus had to double shift forwards throughout the game to get ice time for the fourth line.
The Rangers are off Monday, so there’s no update on the status of Perreault and Rempe. If neither is able to play Tuesday, Berard draws in to the lineup. If one or both is available, then Sullivan has personnel decisions to make on who’s in, and who’s out against the Capitals.
As of Monday, it didn’t appear that the Rangers wished to place Miller on IR, even though he’s week to week with an upper-body injury. The Rangers captain sustained the injury on a third-period collision with Philly’s Nick Seeler on Saturday.
What’s next for Rangers with J.T. Miller on injured reserve
Big skates to fill
Say what you will about Miller’s decreased production this season — 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 35 games — the 32-year-old is still an extremely valuable player, leader, and tone-setter on the Rangers. His intangibles are difficult to replace because he plays so hard and with so much passion. And even with his traditional stats trending the wrong way, Miller tied a franchise record with three overtime goals already this season. Plus he’s got four OT points and a shootout-winning goal in 2025-26 He is Captain Clutch, not to mention a point-per-game threat still.
He’s also among the best face-off men in the NHL at 59.9 percent, a responsible defensive forward most often tasked with playing against the other team’s best, and always accountable with his teammates and the media.
Sullivan didn’t sugarcoat the impact of Miller’s absence.
“He just means so much to this team,” Sullivan said Sunday. “I think he’s the leader of this group in so many ways, emotionally with how he plays the game. I think his game was really building too; I think his game was really starting to come, especially on the offensive side.
“I talked to him, I know he was feeling better and better with every game that he played. It seems like this early part of the season, every time he starts to build his game he gets banged up. And we’re just going to have to work through that, but J.T. is not an easy guy to replace. He’s a terrific player first and foremost, but he impacts this team in so many different ways.”
Been there, done that
This isn’t the first time that the Rangers must overcome an injury to a key player. Center Vincent Trocheck missed 14 games with an upper-body injury. Rempe broke his thumb in a fight and was out nearly two months. Backup goalie Jonathan Quick missed two weeks with a lower-body injury. Adam Fox remains on LTIR with an upper-body injury and sat out his 11th straight game Monday. And even Miller was out for two games with a health issue earlier this season.
That’s not meant to play the pity card here. The League’s been overrun by injury this season. It’s a big reason why parity is at a historic rate in the NHL. Every team deals with this adversity, and the Rangers (18-16-4) must embrace the grind here if they wish to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
All eyes on Vincent Trocheck
Trocheck is the player most similar to Miller on the Rangers roster. His intensity and passion are obvious, and dedication to playing a committed 200-foot game an inspiration. He and Miller not only are linemates, but best friends from their youth in the Pittsburgh area. They’re in lockstep together.
So, expect Sullivan to lean heavily on Trocheck with Miller out of the lineup. The Rangers already ask a lot of Trocheck in every facet of the game. But now the focus on him increases because Miller’s not there. The 32-year-old’s thrived in this on-ice role before with the Rangers, so it’s a natural fit for him, and perhaps spurs a jump in his production (17 points in 24 games), as well.
Trocheck is also an extremely intelligent and respected veteran. He very likely was in the conversation to become Rangers captain before Miller landed the honor prior to the season. That’s another role he’s very comfortable with, and his voice carries plenty of weight with the Rangers.
And he’s already stepped forward in Miller’s absence, calling out his team’s effort, or lack thereof, after the loss in Nashville.
“It sucks not having everybody,” he pointedly said postgame. “It’s obviously a tough spot back to back, and then guys are getting sick and guys go down, but that doesn’t affect how we play with pride. If there’s anything to take away from today, we didn’t play with pride.”
Opportunity there for Rangers kids
Losing Miller thins New York’s options down the middle and on the wing, since he skated in a hybrid role on lines with centers Mika Zibanejad and Trocheck the first half of the season. Like Trocheck, Zibanejad must be more consistent with his offensive production. Same can be said of his linemates, Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Throw Will Cuylle into that mix, too. Miller’s absence opens the door for Cuylle to be a top-six fixture.
Bottom-six centers Noah Laba and Sam Carrick will get the chance to take on more responsibility, at the face-off dot and on both sides of the puck. Let’s see if Perreault gets more ice time and opportunity to do what he does best, score goals and set up chances for his teammates. As for Brennan Othmann, the former first-round pick must do more with the chances he’s given than what we saw in a sub-par showing Sunday against the Predators. If not, he’ll quickly lose his opportunity since Sullivan doesn’t seem to have a lot of patience for the 22-year-old.
Ditto for Berard, who’s pointless in 11 games with the Rangers this season.
