J.T. Miller exclusive: NY Rangers building around center who plays 'on a sharp sword'
Hockey fans and observers, particularly those in Vancouver, have been searching for ways to describe or define J.T. Miller for years.
They’ve used terms like intense, fiery, competitive, even angry.
But how does the man himself view it?
“I definitely come off as angry,” Miller told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, from a locker stall at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. “People may not like that, but I don't really give a [expletive] what they think.”
“My whole career, I feel like I have something to prove all the time,” he added. “The second I lose that mindset, I feel like things are going to dip – and they have. The proof is in the pudding there. You never want to feel like you're at a satisfied mentality. I've been like that since I was a kid. I always want more. It’s just a part of my DNA, really.”
Thirteen years in the NHL, including his first five-and-a-half with the Rangers, have reinforced that fierce approach.
For Miller to get the most out of his considerable ability, he must enter a headspace that pushes him to the snarling edge.
“I play on a sharp sword,” the veteran center explained as he settles into his second stint with the Blueshirts. “That’s just how it is, and I feel like I spent a lot of my career explaining myself. I think people that know me as a teammate and a friend and a player, they understand my game and understand that's just part of who I am. Everybody's different, so I just try to regulate the emotions. I don't want it to go away, because it brings out the best in the me. But if things are starting to go the other way, I have to learn how to recognize that, and that's something I think I've gotten better at.”
The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder didn’t hide from the fact that those raging emotions have bubbled over at times and caused friction, particularly when they follow him off the ice. It's not an easy thing to turn on and off, leading to heat-of-the-moment confrontations that haven't always ended amicably.
Miller’s five-and-a-half years with the Canucks, which were wildly successful and launched his career to a new stratosphere, ended with a groundswell of rumor and innuendo. Reports of a rift between him and fellow center Elias Pettersson consumed local coverage – and, in time, the locker room – with Vancouver team president Jim Rutherford determining it to be an untenable situation.
He ultimately agreed to a Jan. 31 trade that sent Miller back to the place where his career started and relieved the tension that had grown to feel inescapable.
“A lot of the season wasn't really fun, so I'm just enjoying myself right now,” Miller said. “It's fun coming to the rink again.”
'Compete and tenacity'
The Rangers’ roster was built on skill and finesse, but it's increasingly lacked the personnel to play the direct, imposing style that team president Chris Drury and head coach Peter Laviolette want to move toward.
Enter Miller, who fits that mold to a tee and has provided an undeniable jolt.
“I try to pride my game on compete and tenacity,” he said. “When I'm not bringing those, I'm an average version of myself. I have enough skill that, when I play that way, I can capitalize on chances and make plays. But it all stems from moving my feet and playing a physical brand of hockey – and that doesn't mean running around trying to kill people. That just means engaging physically. I play a pretty straightforward game, I think.”
While he’s always had a mean streak, Miller – who turned 32 on Friday – learned to harness it constructively in Vancouver.
That’s where he went from a solid role player who'd never eclipsed 56 points in a season to an all-star with three straight years of 82 or more, including a career-high 103 last season.
He achieved those lofty totals, not just with playmaking savvy and a wicked left-handed wrister, but by attacking opponents and the high-danger areas of the ice with a never-back-down attitude.
It’s a form of calculated aggression that Laviolette has quickly grown to appreciate.
“He's a guy that plays the game the right way,” he said. “He takes 35-second shifts, 40-second shifts, and he plays them hard. He changes the right way. He drives the net. He stops in down-low coverage. All the little things that you want from a player, he brings that to the table. He competes hard in the battles. If somebody pushes him in front of the net, he pushes them back. There’s something that draws you in about that. There’s a hardness about that. There’s an honesty and a hardness that you like about his game.”
JT Miller makes it 3-0 after a Tony D giveaway. #NYRpic.twitter.com/qzuurf7S6v
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) March 4, 2025
'He's got that Pittsburgh in him'
More roster surgery will be needed to complete the transformation that Drury envisions, but he’s found a pillar in Miller.
He thrives in the tight-checking environment the Rangers have struggled with on recent playoff runs. That was evident last spring with the Canucks, with Miller relishing his matchup with the best player in the world, Connor McDavid. He more than held his own and was a major reason why Vancouver pushed eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton to seven games.
“When I'm on my game, it is a brand of playoff hockey,” said Miller, who hearkened back to his first postseason experience with the Blueshirts in 2014, the last time they reached the Stanley Cup Final.
“I just think that fits my style,” he added. “I didn't realize that when I was younger. I learned a lot when I was with the Rangers. I was in the playoffs a lot of years and struggled and didn't really understand how to play in the playoffs. But I think as time goes on and you evolve as a player, you figure that stuff out. I think my game is a good fit for the playoffs because of that recognition of playing that way.”
Miller’s full-throttle style has been contagious, with multiple teammates noting the influence it’s had on their collective effort. It's no coincidence that as of Sunday they'd gone 9-6-2 since the trade to claw back into the Eastern Conference's final wild-card position.
“It's exactly what we needed,” veteran Jonny Brodzinski said. “I don't know a lot of games (prior to Miller’s arrival) where we were putting up that many hits or creating that many loose puck battles that we’re winning. He’s definitely brought that level of bite that we needed.”
The Rangers are certainly taking the body more, going from a pre-J.T. average of 23.17 hits per 60 minutes to 29.34 in the post-J.T. world. But it’s about much more than just hits.
He's infused a ferocity the lineup lacked, which new teammate and longtime friend Vincent Trocheck traces back to the blue-collar area where they grew up.
“He’s got that Pittsburgh in him,” he said. “The more of them you can have, the better.”
An unlikely connection
On the surface, Miller and Mika Zibanejad couldn’t be much different.
The former is a hard-nosed American from the Midwest who can come off as abrasive. The latter is a soft-spoken Swede who doesn’t seem to have a confrontational bone in his body.
Yet, aside from the obvious Miller-Trocheck relationship, there aren't many Rangers who have spent more time together lately.
The conversation has been constant, usually beginning on the ice but often carrying into the locker room and beyond.
“He’s very similar to me,” Zibanejad said. “I like to put ideas out there, and then just talk about it.”
“It’s easy to keep going about your business during the games – but if he sees something, he'll talk,” he added. “With him talking that much, I think it opens up for us to talk as well, and for me to talk and kind of bounce ideas back and forth. He’s interested in what I see from my perspective, and that’s led to good conversation – and it’s a good thing for chemistry, as well.”
There's a new sheriff in town. #NYRpic.twitter.com/yIS9XROtti
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) February 6, 2025
Miller and Zibanejad have formed an unlikely duo, and while their left winger has rotated, those two have been inseparable.
Zibanejad described a mutual respect that began while competing against each other for their respective countries as early as 16 years old. They were both first-round draft picks in 2011 and went head-to-head early in their NHL careers before overlapping in New York for a season-and-a-half. Miller was shipped to Tampa Bay at the beginning of the Rangers’ rebuild in 2018, but now their paths have crossed again.
No one expected the team’s top-two centers to join forces on the same line, but it’s a move that’s worked out quite well. Miller racked up 18 points (seven goals and 11 assists) through his first 17 games back, while Zibanejad has revived his season with 20 (six goals and 14 assists) in that same span.
They’ve registered a collective 52.88% xGF, according to Natural Stat Trick, while outscoring opponents, 10-7, with a 76-55 advantage in scoring chances.
To hear them tell it, none of it has been forced. The conversation has flowed organically between two inquisitive hockey minds, and the results have followed.
“I'm not even trying to be a good teammate,” Miller said. “I'm just being myself. I think that's no different than when I was in Van or Tampa or New York before. I'm trying to be a student of the game as much as I can and trying to get better.”
Regulating emotions
Zibanejad isn’t the only teammate who’s hit it off with Miller.
It seems the entire locker room has embraced him as part of their evolving leadership group, especially a hungry flock of young forwards who are trying to follow his competitive example.
Miller has developed a playful relationship with many of them, with some friendly razzing and a general lightness about the way he’s navigated the room since his arrival. A weight has clearly been lifted.
His family is settling in nicely, as well. Miller and his wife, Natalie, along with their three children, have found a place of their own after crashing with the Trocheck’s for a few weeks. New York is quickly feeling like home again.
But Miller’s past experiences have taught him to be proactive. He needs that “sharp sword” to maximize to his performance but understands it can do harm if he doesn’t channel it properly.
“It's still something I work on a day-to-day, weekly basis,” he said. “People who play like that, or somebody like myself that's like that, I mean, that comes with its negatives, as well. There's going to be angry moments and emotional regulation problems, which I've had. It’s just, how you can keep it under wraps? That's what I've learned a lot over the last couple years, but I don't want to lose that edge.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: J.T. Miller exclusive: NY Rangers center plays 'on a sharp sword'
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