Jan 31, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers center J.T. Miller (8) waits for a puck drop by linesman Shandor Alphonso (52) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
By now, everyone has heard what New York Rangers J.T. Miller said when asked about his message to the team heading into the Olympic break.
“I literally don’t know,” he said. “Come back with a better mindset, I guess.”
Miller’s words followed a dull 2-0 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, the Rangers’ final game before the NHL’s Olympic Break. This week, Miller, forward Vincent Trocheck, head coach Mike Sullivan, assistant coach David Quinn, and club president and general manager Chris Drury are in Milan, representing Team USA at the Winter Olympics. Forward Mika Zibanejad will play for Sweden.
The three-week break couldn’t come at a better time for the Rangers, who won’t play again until Feb. 26. New York enters the break last in the Eastern Conference and third-last in the NHL.
“You get some time away from the game,” Trocheck said Thursday when asked about the value of the break at this point in the season. “A lot of time away from the game, I guess, to kind of refresh your brain. Good focus, do what you can to get your body ready for the last push of the season and come back with a clear head.”
The important part of Trocheck’s answer is his mention of coming back with a clear head. The noise around the Rangers has been nonstop as the team keeps losing. Since their Winter Classic win over the Panthers in Miami on Jan. 1, they’ve managed a single regulation win. Management issued another letter indicating its intention to retool. As trade rumors have begun to circulate — which now have Trocheck’s name at the forefront — Artemi Panarin was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings.
Defenseman Braden Schneider, who could also be on the move in the Rangers’ retool, admitted that “it’s been a long, hard year” and that the break would serve as a mental reset.
Sullivan said Thursday that his message to his players acknowledged the Rangers’ position at this point of the season, and that “none of us really want to be in this position or having any sort of enjoyment or fulfillment in the position we’re in.”
“It’s going to give our guys an opportunity to get away from the game a little bit,” Sullivan said about the Olympic break. “Everybody feels it. At times, it can be heavy, I’ll just be honest with you. It’s part of it, and an opportunity to get away from it a little bit, recharge the batteries could be beneficial for everybody.”
But, as Sportsnet’s NHL insider Elliotte Friedman wrote last week in his 32 Thoughts blog, perhaps Miller and Sullivan will need to revisit the Rangers’ season at some point during the break to calm the frustration mounting around the club.
Focus shifts to Olympics
The men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics begins Wednesday, with preliminary games running through Sunday. Qualification, quarterfinal, semifinal, and the bronze and gold medal games will be played next week.
Zibanejad and Team Sweden will face Italy on the first day of the tournament, with puck drop at 3:10 p.m. ET. He skated on a line with Elias Pettersson and Rickard Rakell at practice.
According to Kyle Bukauskas of Sportsnet, Team USA, which is coached by Sullivan (Quinn is an assistant), had Miller on a line with Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes, with Trocheck cycling through Nelson’s center spot on occasion.
The U.S. will play its first game on Thursday against Latvia, at 3:10 p.m. ET.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Trocheck said. “It’s a huge honor to be able to go over and represent your country, and something I’ve dreamt of my whole life, so I’m going to make sure I take it all in.”
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