New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury made a few big trades this season, including acquiring star center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini, and a first-round pick. Miller has stepped up for the Blueshirts since the trade, and his play has been a bright spot while many of the team’s top players have struggled.
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
J.T. Miller’s Play
Last season, Miller was excellent for the Canucks and set career highs in goals (37) and points (103) while winning 56.3 percent of his faceoffs. In addition to his impressive numbers, he played with physicality and grit. He helped lead them to the playoffs and led them in postseason points (12) in 13 games as they beat the Nashville Predators in six games in the first round before falling to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the second round.
Earlier this season, Miller missed a few weeks for personal reasons and then scored just three goals in his final 24 games with the Canucks. He finished with nine goals and 26 assists in 40 games for them and won 59.2 percent of his faceoffs.
In his first game after the trade, Miller had two goals in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1. He then had two assists in a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 2. The Rangers’ top two centers, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck, have both struggled this season after putting up impressive numbers last season. Miller quickly proved to be the team’s top center.
Miller has already contributed for the Rangers on the power play, the penalty kill, and at even strength. Head coach Peter Laviolette opted to move Zibanejad to the wing so he could play on a line with Miller. Zibanejad has six goals and 13 assists in 16 games since the trade, after he had just nine goals and 20 assists in his first 50 games.
In addition to helping Zibanejad, Miller is strong on the puck, makes accurate cross-ice passes to set up his teammates, plays with physicality, and consistently drives to the front of the net. In 16 games with the Rangers, he has seven goals, 10 assists, and 44 hits, while winning 61.3 percent of his faceoffs.
Rangers Are Committed to Miller
The Miller trade comes with risk for the Rangers as he is 32 years old and is signed through 2029-30 with a cap hit of $8 million. He has already played in 855 NHL regular-season games and 91 playoff games, but he is still playing at a very high level.
The Rangers are relying on Miller to continue playing well for the next few seasons as they try to make a run with this core group of players. Zibanejad and Trocheck are 31 and Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin are 33. Additionally, Panarin is set to become a free agent after the 2025-26 season, and it is unclear if he will remain with the Blueshirts.
A few seasons ago, the Rangers’ “Kid Line” of Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, and Alexis Lafreniere looked like the future of the team, but Drury traded Kakko in addition to Chytil, and Lafreniere has just 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 games this season. Suddenly, the team is much older, and if they are going to make a run with this core group of forwards, it will have to be done soon as they rely heavily on their veterans.
For Miller Moving Forward
Through 16 games, Miller has exceeded expectations with the Rangers, and they need him to continue playing the same way as they try to make the playoffs this season. They will rely heavily on him for the next few seasons, and they need him to continue to be a number one center. It’s reasonable to expect a drop-off in the last couple of seasons of his contract, but the hope is that he will still be an effective player toward the end of his deal.
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