J.T. Miller was EASILY the New York Rangers' best option to fill captaincy role

New York Post

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00:01J.T. Miller was named the 29th captain of the New York Rangers,

00:04so let's break down Mike Sullivan's first major decision as head coach

00:08with senior hockey columnist and Rangers writer for The Post, Larry Brooks.

00:12Larry, thanks for hopping on with us.

00:15Training camp has already opened up for the rookies.

00:18Rangers hockey is right around the corner, so let's talk about Captain Miller here.

00:22Drafted in the first round by the franchise back in 2011,

00:26he had his ups and downs like any other pro athlete during their career,

00:30got dealt back to the city last season, and then he posted 35 points in 32 games.

00:36So in your opinion, what makes Miller the guy to wear the C

00:41over some of the other leaders that have been in that locker room?

00:45I've been advocating for J.T. to be named captain for a while now.

00:50There was a question whether the Rangers were going to go without a captain,

00:53and I had written a number of times that that would have been the wrong move.

00:59So I'm glad that they named the captain, and I'm glad that it was J.T.

01:05He brings a distinct edge to this team, an emotional high point to the team,

01:15an intensity to the team that they need to adopt as their identity.

01:21And I think that J.T. is an emotional player, leaves everything out on the ice,

01:30and I think he's the perfect representative for what the Rangers need to become

01:36in this first year under Mike Sullivan.

01:39So you talked about what the Rangers need to be, what they need to become under this first year.

01:45How do you feel as though this decision fits into the Rangers' long-term vision,

01:50both when we talk about on the ice and in the culture of this franchise?

01:56Well, they need to reestablish the culture.

01:59They need to reestablish a blue-collar ethos, a work ethic that went away last year

02:09for a number of reasons, and I don't think there's any reason to rehash last year

02:17more than is absolutely necessary.

02:20You know, this was an abomination, but it was also, I think, an anomaly.

02:28I think that when J.T. got back here last year, you know,

02:32we didn't see the full impact of J.T. Miller coming in in the middle of a season.

02:37He was emotionally exhausted.

02:40You know, the Rangers were emotionally exhausted.

02:43But you saw a lot of his work ethic.

02:47You saw a lot of his work rub off onto Mika Zibanejad,

02:53who I think is going to be on his right side when the season starts,

02:58when training camp starts.

03:01I think, you know, J.T. is,

03:04I think J.T. probably needs to

03:08practice some communication skills,

03:11and I think he's going to be aided by that,

03:14by Vincent Chocek, who's going to be one of the alternates,

03:19Adam Fox, one of the alternates,

03:21Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad are the other alternates.

03:28Easy for me to say, but

03:29I just think that, you know,

03:33the Rangers need to play with a

03:37jagged edge mentality.

03:41They, you know, they like to think they're so talented.

03:45They're not that talented.

03:47You know, they're not that talented that they can,

03:49that they can win and they can be successful

03:53without that kind of

03:55jagged edge mentality.

03:57So I think that's what J.T. Miller brings.

04:00He's also a very skilled player as well.

04:02He's one of the great passers in the league.

04:05He's one of the great passers

04:06I've seen with the Rangers over the last 10, 15 years.

04:11The other thing is, like,

04:13what were the odds that when J.T. Miller,

04:19an admittedly, a self-admittedly immature player

04:22through his early years,

04:26when he was shoved out the door

04:27at the trade deadline in 2018,

04:30what were the odds that he was going to come back

04:32seven-plus years later and be the team's captain?

04:35You know, it was an amazing growth in J.T.

04:40And I think that the Rangers have, you know,

04:43Rangers have recognized that.

04:45Yeah, it sounds like that's the reason why

04:47Chris Drury said that he embodied

04:49what it meant to be a Ranger.

04:50You know, we talk about the ups and downs

04:52of pro athletes.

04:54If you can have the ups and downs here

04:55and still weather the storm

04:57and people embrace you the way he is

04:59with what he's done since he's come back,

05:02and now he's earned that C.

05:04I mean, I love being a former pro athlete

05:07here in New York.

05:08You just love the stories like that.

05:10So a lot of people are excited

05:12about the new energy that feels like

05:14it's been breathed into the program

05:16with the franchise going into this year.

05:18A lot of people are also excited

05:20about you, Molly Walker, and Brian Boyle

05:23coming back for Up in the Blue Seats podcast

05:27for the New York Post.

05:28So, one, how excited are you

05:30that the gang's all back to be recording

05:32pretty soon here in two?

05:34How excited are you

05:36about another season covering the Rangers?

05:39I'm looking forward to it.

05:41I wouldn't be here if I weren't, you know.

05:45I think, you know, Molly and Brian,

05:47you know, I think we're a great team.

05:50We'll see if the Rangers are a great team,

05:52but I think there'll be,

05:55there certainly will not be anything like last year.

05:59I guarantee that it won't be anything like last year.

06:02There will not be dysfunction.

06:05You know, they may not, you know,

06:07I'm not sure that their roster is top 10,

06:14top 12, top 15 in the league.

06:16I'm not sure.

06:17But I, but I know that their work ethic

06:19and I know that their structure

06:21is going to be much improved.

06:23I know they're going to be a well-coached team.

06:27And I'm looking forward to seeing how they respond.

06:32If Larry Brooks is hopeful,

06:34that means there's hope.

06:36Thank you, sir.

06:37And congratulations on another year covering.

06:40I appreciate it.

06:41Thanks, thanks.

06:42I'll see you soon.

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