There's a push to make ex-Canucks' J.T. Miller captain of the Rangers
There was a time when J.T. Miller was a legitimate option to be named captain of the Vancouver Canucks.
It was after Bo Horvat was traded to the New York Islanders in 2023. Easy to forget now, but there wasn’t necessarily an obvious choice for who should take the C at that time.
Many people thought Elias Pettersson, the team’s leading scorer during the 2022-23 season, should wear the C. Miller also drew consideration.
But the Canucks chose Quinn Hughes, in what seems like an obvious choice in retrospect.
Fast forward two and a half years later, and a similar captaincy debate is happening in New York City. The New York Rangers have been without a captain since they traded Jacob Trouba in December.
Will it be Vincent Trocheck? Adam Fox? They probably won’t go with Artemi Panarin or Mika Zibanejad.
But what about Miller?
Calling it the team’s “most consequential decision” in the New York Post, longtime Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks has made it clear who his choice would be.
“The Rangers acquired J.T. Miller to change the team culture,” Brooks wrote. “The 32-year-old is hard-edged and can be abrasive. That is the identity the Blueshirts should adopt.”
There doesn’t appear to be a consensus among Rangers fans, but it seems like Miller is on the shortlist of candidates.
It would be an incredible turn of events if Miller ends up wearing the C in New York. He was of course at the centre of the drama in Vancouver last year, after his rift with Pettersson came to a boiling point.
What would a Miller-led team look like? And if the Rangers succeed under his leadership, will that turn up the pressure on Pettersson?
Truth be told, the pressure is already on both Miller and Pettersson, as well as both their teams. The Canucks and Rangers were the two most disappointing teams in 2024-25, as they each revealed themselves as dysfunctional organizations.
Surely they’ll want to change the narrative.
Miller and Pettersson have the ability to each be No. 1 centres for their respective teams, something that will be eased without having to keep each other’s company on a daily basis.
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