J.T. Miller ready for Rangers to ‘re-rack’ after disappointing season

The Rangers went 15-14-3 after acquiring J.T. Miller, as well as Jackson Dorrington and the since-traded Erik Brannstrom, from the Canucks on Jan. 31 in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a 2025 first-round pick. 

Miller was like a shot of adrenaline in something that was nearly dead at first, but it faded fast and wasn’t enough to propel the Rangers to the playoffs.

After all, nobody was going to be able to do that alone. 

In 32 games with the Rangers this season, Miller finished with 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points — the same amount he posted in his first 40 games with the Canucks earlier in the season. 

“Especially the older you get, you really want to be playing this time of year,” Miller said after the Rangers’ season finale on Thursday. “But, this is where we’re at. We can’t change it. It sucks, but at the same time, I think on a personal level, it’s been a long year. I’m going to enjoy some family time. We don’t get these opportunities very often, but get some time with the families right now.” 

The situation with Miller in Vancouver evidently became untenable for all parties involved. The rumored rift between Miller and Elias Pettersson appeared to be a major distraction, which was further confirmed Friday. 

“Did it get uncomfortable? Yeah,” Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters during the Canucks’ breakup day. 

Pettersson said: “Yeah, maybe we weren’t the best of friends, but we respected each other as teammates.” 

No one benefited from Miller’s arrival more than Mika Zibanejad. Peter Laviolette hooked Zibanejad up to Miller immediately and it proved to be one of the better moves the Rangers head coach made all season. 

Through 50 games on Jan. 31, Zibanejad had totaled nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points. 

Over the final 32 contests, while logging 259:15 of ice time next to Miller, Zibanejad posted 11 goals and dished 22 assists for 33 points. He was the third-highest producer on the team over that span, behind only Miller (35) and Artemi Panarin (37). 

“I don’t know, we missed the playoffs, so clearly nothing drastic happened,” Miller said of his perception of the team before and after he arrived. “I feel like this is a good fit for me. I’m so excited to be back here and I had a lot of fun with these guys while I was here. It just sucks we came out and lost a couple too many games, but we’ll re-rack in the summer.” 

The Rangers are expected to conduct breakup day Monday. 

Chytil told reporters in Vancouver on Friday that he cleared concussion protocol.

The former Ranger missed the final 16 games of the season.