Rangers star ‘so proud’ of J.T. Miller handling ups, downs in 1st year as captain
Back in September, when the New York Rangers named J.T. Miller the 29th captain in franchise history ahead of their Centennial campaign in the NHL, no one would’ve predicted just how sideways the 2025-26 season would go — individually for the player nor collectively for the team.
To say it wasn’t exactly the fairytale most envisioned is a gross understatement. Miller battled injuries all season, from training camp on, and saw his production drop considerably. A 100-point producer just two seasons ago with the Vancouver Canucks, Miller is fifth on the Rangers with 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 64 games.
What weighs even more on Miller is that the Rangers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season, and sit last in the Eastern Conference despite a strong run down the stretch recently.
So, if it’s already a difficult task to wear the captain’s C on the Blueshirt for an Original 6 team, you can just imagine the burden Miller’s carried during this disappointing season.
But one of the other key veteran leaders on the team, the current longest tenured player on the Rangers roster Mika Zibanejad, believes Miller’s done a commendable job considering all the negative circumstances this season.
“It’s not been the easiest year to have your first year [as captain] the way the team’s been playing and the results we’ve been having and you look at the standings. A lot of credit to how he’s been trying to deal with it,” Zibanejad said Tuesday after practice.
Zibanejad knows a thing or two about the pressures of delivering in New York, and carrying the weight of expectations and disappointment around during a failed season. Just a year ago, Zibanejad, an alternate captain, was largely the face of a stunning freefall by the Rangers, when they became the fourth team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy one season and fail to qualify for the playoffs the next.
It was painful to watch Zibanejad most of the 2024-25 season, just seeing how down and unhappy he was with himself and the team’s situation. To his credit, the 32-year-old bounced back this season, and Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 33 goals and 75 points in 77 games, despite the lack of team success.
Miller had a similar vibe this season, and certainly hopes to rebound in 2026-27 like Zibanejad did this year.
“The demands are high in this city within the organization and a team like this. It’s easy to lead a and be perfect in that sense when things are going for you. But you get tested in times like this. And I feel like he puts a lot of responsibility on himself and he takes a lot — at times I feel like too much — and you can tell how much he wants to be the right leader for us, the player, he wants to do everything. It’s not easy,” Zibanejed explained in detail.
“But I feel like it’s a stepping stone to move forward, and I’m so proud of how he’s dealt with it all. I can’t imagine what it is to be in that situation. Everyone’s got his back and is by his side.”
Like Zibanejad, Miller, 33, is under contract for four more seasons after this one. The Rangers are retooling, per general manager Chris Drury, but Miller is all in on the Blueshirts. And the Rangers, in turn, are all in on their captain, who despite his struggles won the 2025-26 Rod Gilbert Mr. Ranger Award for his work on the ice and charitable endeavors off it.
Miller said he was “honored” to win the award. But the individual accolade is not what he seeks next season. Zibanejad and anyone else who knows him, is well aware that all Miller wants is to win.
