Bounce-Back Season From J.T. Miller Will Be Key for NY Rangers

If the New York Rangers are going to bounce-back, they will need a big year from J.T. Miller.

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center J.T. Miller (8) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With training camp underway for the New York Rangers, the team will be working on getting all of the new faces acclimated and hopefully taking a big step forward this year. 

Coming off a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers were one of the most active teams in trying to make improvements. New York did take some risk by trading away three first-round picks this summer. For a team that just finished in last place, that is a major risk. However, they made a lot of improvements, and there is reason to believe that they will be much-improved. 

While the team will be relying on their new talent to help, this is a team that still had some good things in place last season. The emergence of Gabe Perreault for the top six was a major positive at the end of the year, and the hope will be that he continues to take another step forward. 

Furthermore, while young talent developing will be important, so too will a couple of key veterans rebounding. One player who the team really needs to perform better is their captain J.T. Miller. 

Miller Will Be Key for Turnaround

Apr 13, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; New York Rangers center J.T. Miller (8) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (22) during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If the Rangers are going to be a playoff contender, they will really be relying on Miller to be a lot better than he was last season. With the team trading away Vincent Trocheck, it is going to be Miller as the second-line center, and this will be a group New York will be expecting a lot from. 

Currently, it appears that Miller is going to be playing with Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand. This group has a ton of potential with Dorofeyev coming over as a 35+ goal scorer. 

It is going to be imperative for New York to set him up for success on five-on-five. He is going to be a force on the power play unit, but overall success for him will be important. 

Last season, Miller was one of the biggest disappointments on the team. As a former 100-point scorer in the NHL, the captain of the Rangers saw his point total drop to 53 in 68 games played. Furthermore, a -30 rating on the ice was far from ideal. 

If New York is going to turn around, Miller getting back to being a near point-per-game player will play a big part in that. As the center of the second line with some good talent next to him, the captain is set up for success.