On the ice, Miller is back at center, his natural position, because of the departure of Vincent Trocheck, who was traded to the Utah Mammoth in the offseason. He’s centering Pavel Dorofeyev, the Rangers’ most important and expensive offseason addition. Oliver Bjorkstrand is also on the line that has been together since Day 1 of training camp.

“He likes the guys that he’s playing with right now,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “He likes the changes that we made to the group to try to become more competitive. I think J.T. is in a good place. … He’s played a lot of center over his career. He’s very comfortable in that position, and I think he likes being there.”

Off the ice, Miller feels the fun is back in the dressing room. He said there is a “freshness” that has led to a “great vibe” with seven new players, including 18-year-old rookie defenseman Alberts Smits, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft who made the team.

“It’s been talked about so much that we don’t really need to talk about it more, but I like to have fun and I want to have an environment where we can come in and bust (on each other) and have a lot of fun, but expect a lot out of each other,” Miller said. “When the doors close, we kill somebody for each other and have a beer after the game and talk about it. That’s the environment we can have fun in. That’s it. I love to have a good time.” 

As badly as Miller wanted to create that environment as Rangers captain last season, it was basically impossible with how the season started and how it went from there.

But he doesn’t sound like a leader who lost his way last season. Miller believes he’s a leader who knows what a winning environment is supposed to look and feel like. That includes embracing internal pressure and using it as a source of positivity.

New York will go for its first win of the season in its home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, MSG), two nights after a 3-0 loss at the Boston Bruins.

“When I play to my ability I feel like we should get the results,” Miller said. “Last year, it felt like it didn’t matter because we didn’t get the results. If I played really well and we’d lose by one, I’d feel like if I could just produce a little more, we’d win that damn game. So, you don’t get anything out of the good games, and then the bad games you certainly don’t get anything out of. What I learned was maybe not to pile so much on myself, maybe don’t try to tackle a thousand things, maybe just keep plugging along, which is cliché, but 900 games into my career I’m still talking about doing it because it’s very hard to do. It’s very hard to do.”