The New York Rangers played much of last season under former coach Peter Laviolette without a captain after Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 6.
They’re preparing for what they hope will be a rebound season under new coach Mike Sullivan, and they’ll be doing it with a new captain. Center J.T. Miller was named the 29th captain in franchise history last week and took the ice wearing the “C” for the first time on Thursday when the Rangers lost 5-4 to the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden. Fittingly, he scored a goal and played with typical high-intensity, despite it being a preseason game.
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It’s the second time around in New York for both. Sullivan was an assistant with the Rangers from 2009-10 through 2012-13. Miller, their first-round pick (No. 15) in the 2011 NHL Draft, played 26 games for the Rangers in Sullivan’s final season working with coach John Tortorella on Broadway.
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Each returned to New York after enjoying success elsewhere. Sullivan coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for 10 seasons, including consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. He replaced Laviolette as Rangers coach in May.
Miller’s had seven 20-goal seasons and averaged more than a point a game for the past six, including a whopping 103 points with the Vancouver Canucks just two seasons ago.
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The Canucks traded Miller back to the Rangers on Jan. 31 partly because of a rift with center Elias Pettersson. Sullivan said the issue came up in discussion’s he had with his new captain.
“I’ve had conversations with him about it,” Sullivan said Friday. “Obviously when (general manager) Chris [Drury] and I talked to him about leadership and being the captain of the team, that was part of the conversation.”
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J.T. Miller praised as ‘fierce competitor’ by Rangers coach Mike Sullivan
At age 32, Miller retains the fire that’s fueled his play and made him a pain in the butt for opponents — and some teammates — over the course of his career. But Sullivan believes there’s an important difference in Miller now as opposed to more than a decade ago.
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“I think JT has really matured over the course of his career,” the coach explained. “I think J.T. has taken a great approach to his career both on and off the ice. The type of teammate he is, I think sometimes those types of guys tend to be misunderstood.
“He’s a fierce competitor who tends to wear his emotions right on his sleeve. His intentions are in the right place. He wants to win in the worst way, and we don’t want that aspect of his personality to change. We want him to be himself. He wants to become a better version of himself on the ice and off the ice.”
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For each of his 10 seasons coaching the Penguins, Sullivan had Sidney Crosby, one of the League’s greatest players and leaders, as captain. The new Rangers coach believes his relationship with Miller will be similar to the one he had with Crosby, and that he’s looking forward to getting to know his new captain better.
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“I don’t think it’s different,” he said. “I really value that relationship with the captain. His relationship with the coach is really important. That’s how it was when Sid was the captain and I was the coach in Pittsburgh. Obviously I was there a long time, and when you spend that much time together, you develop a relationship, right?
“I think it’s one of the more rewarding things from a coaching standpoint to have the ability to build a relationship with a player of that stature who’s elite at what he does but also incredibly invested in the organization. I feel the same way about J.T. I really look forward to the opportunity to get to know him better, and for him to get to know me better. I look forward to that opportunity to work together to help this team be its best.”
It’s a relationship that must work if the Rangers are going to bounce back from one of the most dysfunctional and disappointing seasons in their history. Sullivan said he’s “certainly very comfortable” with where they’re at now.
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“He’s a great kid,” Sullivan offered. “He really cares about the Rangers. He’s totally invested in trying to help this team win, and I’m excited to watch him evolve with the group here as the captain. … He’s just a fierce competitor. I’ve coached a number of those guys over the years, and I think part of the DNA of those types of players is that they tend to get emotional because they’re invested.
“I think that’s J.T. in a nutshell.”
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