New Era Begins: J.T. Miller Named Rangers Captain

J.T. Miller was named the 29th captain in New York Rangers history on Tuesday. The announcement came one day before players report to training camp ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.

The 32-year-old forward was re-acquired by the Rangers in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31 to help change the culture and personality of the team last season. Miller is intense and often abrasive, both on and off the ice. And clearly Rangers management believes in his leadership style.

“Since his arrival last season, J.T. immediately became a leader for our group and exemplifies how we want to conduct ourselves both on and off the ice,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. “Congratulations to J.T. and his entire family on an incredibly meaningful achievement and we’re confident he will continue to represent our organization with class, commitment, and integrity.”

Drury knows a thing or two about leadership and wearing the C. He was Rangers captain from 2008-11, and previously was captain for the Buffalo Sabres.

Mille replaces Jacob Trouba, who was traded by the Rangers last season to the Anaheim Ducks in December. In fact, the past three Rangers captains — Ryan Callahan, Ryan McDonagh, and Trouba — were all traded mid-season. For what it’s worth, Miller has a full no-movement clause in his seven-year, $56 million contract that runs through the 2029-30 season.

Per reports, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck will be alternate captains this season. Zibanejad, Fox, and Panarin were alternates last season. Trocheck receives an A on his sweater in place of Chris Kreider, who was part of the leadership group in 2024-25 but was traded to the Ducks this offseason.

Back in early June, ESPN New York radio talk-show host Don Lagreca advocated to Forever Blueshirts that Miller be the new focal point of the Rangers.

“The Rangers will be better off when this becomes J.T. Miller’s team. Whatever they do, it has to accentuate and be something that works around J.T. Miller,” Lagreca said on the RINK RAP podcast. “I just think getting away from the Kreider-Zibanejad Rangers and making it the J.T. Miller Rangers is probably the best thing.”

J.T. Miller named Rangers captain

It appears that the Rangers and new coach Mike Sullivan didn’t want the captaincy question hovering over them in training camp. So, they got ahead with a decisive call before camp opened.

Sullivan is expected to speak with the media on Wednesday and will detail why he believes Miller is the correct choice to wear the C. There was plenty of debate outside the organization whether Miller, Trocheck, or Fox would be the next captain.

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New Era Begins: J.T. Miller Named Rangers Captain

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