Rangers Name J.T. Miller 29th Captain in Franchise History

After a summer-long (if not longer) debate about who would be the next captain of the New York Rangers, the team today named J.T. Miller the 29th captain in franchise history.

Miller was originally the team's first round draft pick in the 2011 NHL draft and played six season with the Rangers before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with then-captain Ryan McDonagh during the 2017-18 season.

The captaincy has been vacant since Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December. It was unclear whether the Rangers would name a new captain before the start of the 2025-26 season—or wait.

The Rangers reacquired Miller last season, striking up a deal with the Vancouver Canucks. In 32 games with the Blueshirts last season, Miller netted 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points. In total, between Vancouver and the Rangers, he finished last season with 70 points.

Miller brings the gritty, tough forechecking style general manager Chris Drury has been looking for in recent years. Aside from that, Miller generates plenty offensively, registering 472 points since the 2019-20 season, the 10th most of any player in the league since then.

During his 13 years in the league, he has a total of 260 goals and 449 assists for 709 points. Miller has also been to the playoffs eight times, where he has produced on a consistent basis as well, notching 12 goals and 42 assists.

Miller will now look to command a group that fell apart last season in part due to poor leadership. During the course of the season, many players seemed checked out and uninterested, playing game after game of uninspired hockey. It will now be up to Miller to keep the team from collapsing like they did only a season ago.

The alternate captains serving alongside Miller will be Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, and Vincent Trocheck. Panarin and Fox both wore the "A" for the Rangers last year.

While Miller is a popular choice among fans, he will be tasked with ending an unfortunate recent trend. Each of the Rangers’ last three captains—Trouba, McDonagh, and Ryan Callahan—was traded midseason, while the one before them, Chris Drury, was bought out following the 2010-11 season.

Can Miller break this trend as the next captain of the New York Rangers? We'll find out.