2025 Rangers Report Card: J.T. Miller

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2024-25 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

Expectations

It took nearly seven years and multiple rounds of trade negotiations to make it happen, but the prodigal son finally returned to New York in 2025.

Originally drafted by the Rangers with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, J.T. Miller debuted on Broadway during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and played parts of six seasons with the Rangers in his first stint as a member of the organization.

Miller was dealt from New York to Tampa Bay in the cornerstone trade of the franchise's harebrained rebuild in the late 2010's, and spent a season and a half in Tampa before being shuffled along to the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2019. It was in Vancouver where Miller blossomed into the player Rangers fans always hoped he'd become.

Miller blew past his previous career-high of 58 points in each of his four full seasons as a Canuck, topping out with a 103-point effort in 2023-24. A falling out with another of Vancouver's franchise cornerstones, forward Elias Pettersson, led to Miller taking a leave of absence from Vancouver in November before returning in December, and then being dealt to the Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a future first-round pick January.

Performance

Boxcar Stats: 32 GP, 13 G, 22 A, 55 SOG, 18:31 TOI/GP, 18 PIM, -5 Penalty Differential, +1 5-on-5 Goal Differential

5-on-5 Analytical Metrics: 2.68 Points/60, 1.35 Relative CF%, 3.56 Relative SF%, -4.14 Relative GF%, 0.78 Relative Expected GF%, 2.70 Relative SCF%, 100.5 On-Ice PDO, 3.3 Goals Above Replacement

Mika Zibanejad's decline made acquiring an impact center even more of a pressing need than usual for Chris Drury, and Miller had been a player he coveted since his first season as the Blueshirts' general manager. A deal to bring Miller back to Broadway was finally consummated on Jan. 31, with Miller donning a Blueshirt for the first time since Feb. 25, 2018 the following day.

Miller's presence allowed the Rangers to bump Zibanejad over to the wing, and Miller himself made an immediate impact by scoring two goals in his first game back.

Sans the swapping of Ryan Strome for Vincent Trocheck over the 2022 off-season, the Blueshirts' key forwards had largely remained the same. Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Artemi Panarin did the heavy lifting up front while younger players like Alexis Lafrenière attempted to grow into more prominent roles. Miller's arrival added another high-end forward into the mix, and no player Chris Drury acquired during the season did more to change the Rangers than Miller.

Miller was a demon on the forecheck and brought a level of physicality and chippiness to the ice that none of New York's other high-end forwards, aside from Trocheck to a degree, displayed. Miller remained the elite scorer he proved to be with the Canucks, as his 2.68 points per 60 at 5v5 led all Rangers' skaters to skate over 150 minutes with the team (Panarin clocked in at 2.62 points per 60 for comparison's sake).

Miller's arrival also sparked Zibanejad upon the latter's move to the wing. Zibanejad posted a 4-9-13 stat line in nine games in February playing primarily on a line with Miller, the most productive month of the season for Zibanejad. Miller himself ran a bit hot and cold but had a strong finish to the season.

The ex-Canuck scored an empty-net goal and tallied an assist on March 22 in his first game against Vancouver since being traded away, and that performance marked the beginning of a 12-game stretch through end of the season where Miller racked up six goals and 11 assists while tallying at least a point in all but one contest.

Drury's vision for Miller being a key piece in an organizational culture change may not have taken shape immediately, but Miller was everything one could ask for on the ice upon his arrival. As the Rangers traverse an off-season filled with question marks, Miller returning as one of the team's top centers and being a major cog of the 2025-26 rendition of the team is one of the few things we can be assured of.

Grades

Author Grade: A-

Banter Consensus: A

Final Evaluation

The price paid to acquire Miller was high, and the move didn't right the ship on the disaster that was New York's 2024-25 campaign. But the decision to bring Miller back was made with an eye on the future of the franchise. Since dropping three straight games against the Florida Panthers to go from a 2-1 Eastern Conference Final lead to the golf course in 2024, Drury has been extremely aggressive in his efforts to reshape the Rangers.

Two of the six players that formed that leadership group were jettisoned before the calendar flipped to 2025, and a third in Chris Kreider is likely to moved elsewhere this summer. Miller wore an "A" in Vancouver, and if the Rangers elect to maintain a large leadership group like they have in seasons past, it wouldn't be a shock to see Miller named an alternate captain for the Blueshirts next season.

Whatever his role becomes off the ice and in the locker room next fall, Miller's initial return to Broadway was successful on an individual level. If Miller's individual success can help propel the Rangers back to the team success they've experienced in prior seasons, the trade could end up as a turning point for the franchise. The early returns were good, and hopefully Miller keeps it up next season and beyond.

All data via Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey, and NHL.com