GREENBURGH, N.Y. — J.T. Miller arrived at Rangers camp healthy, back at center and carrying the hard lessons of a season that unraveled almost from the opening faceoff. New York’s first-year captain said the struggles of last year have sharpened his perspective as the club looks for its first victory in Thursday’s home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
A season that tested the captain
Miller missed 14 games after injuries began in training camp and continued to interrupt his season. Even when he was in the lineup, he said he spent much of the year playing below full strength while the Rangers’ season slipped away.
New York’s problems piled up early and never truly let up. The Rangers dropped their first seven games at Madison Square Garden, failing to score in five of them. After Christmas, they won only three of 19 games. The organization then publicly shifted toward retooling the roster, a process that included trading Artemi Panarin, and the Rangers finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
- Miller was hurt in camp and missed 14 games during the season.
- The Rangers opened with seven straight home losses, including five shutouts.
- New York went 3-16 in its 19 games after the Christmas break.
- Panarin was moved as the club began reshaping its roster.
- The Rangers ended the season last in the Eastern Conference.
“I’m grateful for what happened last year,” Miller said, explaining that the experience taught him plenty despite the frustration. He said he is naturally emotional, and the combination of injuries, losses and major roster changes made it difficult not to carry the weight of the club’s results.
Still, Miller believes the rough stretch gave him a clearer understanding of how to handle adversity. He said a career without setbacks can create a false sense that success is automatic, while last season forced him to confront problems both individually and collectively.
Back in the middle with a new look around him
The Rangers’ offseason changes have returned Miller to center, the position he considers his natural spot. Vincent Trocheck’s trade to the Utah Mammoth opened that middle-lane role, and Miller has skated there since the first day of camp between Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Dorofeyev is New York’s biggest and costliest offseason addition, while Bjorkstrand completes a line Miller has quickly come to enjoy. Coach Mike Sullivan said the captain is comfortable in the middle and encouraged by the adjustments made to the roster.
Sullivan noted that Miller has played substantial minutes at center throughout his career and appears settled there again. The coach also said Miller likes the players beside him and believes the reshaped group can be more competitive.
Fresh room, familiar standards
There are seven new Rangers in the dressing room, including defenseman Alberts Smits, the 18-year-old No. 5 selection in the 2026 NHL Draft who won a roster spot out of camp. Miller said the incoming group has brought a renewed energy to the room.
For the captain, the target is a dressing room that can be loose before and after games without lowering expectations once it is time to play. He wants teammates who can needle each other and enjoy being together, but who also compete hard for one another when the doors close.
That atmosphere was difficult to establish a year ago, when the Rangers were constantly trying to claw out of a hole. Miller does not see that season as evidence that he failed as a leader. Instead, he said it reinforced what a winning environment should feel like and why internal pressure can be useful when it is kept in the right place.
Home opener offers another chance
The Rangers were shut out 3-0 by the Boston Bruins in their season opener and will seek their first win Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop against Tampa Bay is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Miller said he is learning not to place every Rangers loss entirely on his own shoulders. At roughly 900 NHL games into his career, he said the temptation remains to believe he must solve every problem himself, particularly after playing well in a narrow defeat.
His adjustment is to keep his game simpler, stay with the work and avoid trying to fix “a thousand things” at once. Entering the season healthy already represents a better starting point than the one he had a year ago.
More than anything, Miller said he is motivated by the opportunity in front of him. He called himself fortunate to captain the Rangers and said the ability to return for another game, another shift and another season is what keeps his outlook upbeat.
