Media Bytes: Miller, 'Retool' Pessimism, Lafrenière's Future, Schneider the Shark, King Panarin

Welcome back to Media Bytes, a weekly column from Blueshirt Banter. Every Sunday, we’ll help you start the week right with a quick catch-up on the latest stories and developments around the New York Rangers and the broader NHL media landscape.

The full version of Media Bytes is for Blueshirt Banter members only. To read the full thing and get it delivered to your inbox every Sunday, become a member at Blueshirt Banter today.

The Captain Will Continue

1. On TSN's Insider Trading segment on Tuesday, Pierre LeBrun provided a general update on the Rangers in the wake of The Letter 2.0. Part of that update included one on Rangers' captain, J.T. Miller, who's name according to LeBrun, has been "bandied about," and he's not sure why.

"What I was told today was [Miller] has no intention of waiving his no-move clause and the Rangers have no intention of going to him to ask him to waive it," LeBrun told viewers. "[The Rangers] traded for him last year, made him captain, and they still believe in the reasons why they made that move. [Miller] should not be a part of whatever exodus of players goes out of New York."

Litigating The Letter 2.0

2. On Tuesday's episode of Tri-State Hockey, Mike Rupp weighed in on the Rangers releasing The Letter 2.0, telling listeners he believes the organization is on the right path—even if he's far from enthusiastic about it.

Rupp made clear that his skepticism isn't about the decision itself, but about the people tasked with seeing it through. He openly questioned whether the Rangers have shown any ability to draft and develop their way out of their current predicament.

"This team has not drafted and developed," Rupp said. "Until something changes in that process, why should fans feel comfortable?" He pointed to the organization's track record during its last rebuild as evidence, arguing the Rangers failed to properly capitalize on that opportunity.

"This is the right thing to happen, and it's what’s necessary," Rupp continued. "But who's to feel good about the people in place to carry it out? They simply have not developed players and drafted well. That's a fact when you look at the Rangers' drafting over the last however long."

Rupp's frustration is easy to understand. During the previous rebuild under Jeff Gorton, the Rangers made eight first-round picks in a four-year span, including back-to-back second- and first-overall selections. Despite that haul of high-end draft capital, the organization failed to land a genuine franchise-altering player. Moreover, most of those picks have since been moved, and more could be on the way out in the weeks and months ahead, leaving the Rangers scant evidence to prove they're capable of pulling this off.

3. Continuing the discussion around The Letter 2.0, Jonny Lazarus said he gets the sense the Rangers would be perfectly content holding onto both Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller as part of this so-called "retool."

Pointing to the Devils' handling of Dougie Hamilton as a parallel, Lazarus said he's not convinced the Blueshirts would go to extreme lengths to pressure Zibanejad or Miller into waiving their no-movement clauses to facilitate a trade.

That said, Lazarus drew a much firmer line elsewhere. If the Rangers reach the deadline without moving Vincent Trocheck or Braden Schneider, he argued, "then this whole thing was pointless."

His reasoning is straightforward. Trocheck and Schneider represent the most movable, league-wide attractive contracts on the roster, and in Trocheck's case especially, his market value is simply too high to justify holding onto him if the organization is serious about reshaping the roster.