The New York Rangers needed a new team captain heading into the 2025-26 season. Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks during the 2024-25 campaign, leaving the captaincy open in New York. On Tuesday, the Rangers announced that J.T. Miller will be the new on-ice leader for the team.
General manager Chris Drury explained why Miller earned the honor despite his short tenure with the franchise.
“We're pleased to announce J.T. Miller as the new captain of the New York Rangers,” Drury said in the release. “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.
“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.”
Miller was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Rangers, playing parts of six seasons there before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was later shipped to the Vancouver Canucks, and this past season, the Canucks traded Miller back to the Rangers. He was an alternate captain for four years in Vancouver before being traded to Broadway.
Miller was excellent in the Big Apple after the trade; the American-born forward tallied 35 points from February 1 through the rest of the season, which was tied for 11th in the NHL.
He was also a physical presence at that time, doling out 75 hits. Now, the 29th captain of the Rangers will need to carry that intensity and drive to inspire the rest of the team to return to the postseason after a rare miss in 2024-25.
Rangers announce rest of on-ice leadership
Beyond the naming of the newest captain, the Rangers also announced the four alternates for the upcoming campaign. Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad will all be alternates this season.
Trocheck will be wearing the ‘A' on his sweater for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, Fox has been an alternate for the past two years. Panarin has been an alternate since the 2020-21 season with the Rangers. Finally, Zibanejad has been an alternate since 2018-19.
The four of them will join Miller in leading the franchise this year. Based on what the power forward has already shown after returning to the franchise, he was the clear choice to have the ‘C' on his chest.
