It’s been a rough start for JT Miller. On pace for under 40 points on the season, Miller is at the center of all the Rangers struggles on offense this season. With just four goals and nine points through the first 20 games, the Rangers look to have acquired 2017-2018 Miller and not 2024-2025 Miller. Rumblings that JT Miller is injured, and has been since the preseason, have taken center stage as we try to explain away his struggles. But if JT Miller is injured, then he needs to sit.
When the Rangers sent Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and what was eventually the 12th overall pick to Vancouver for Miller and Jackson Dorrington, the Rangers were supposed to be getting their new 1C, shifting Mika Zibanejad to either wing or down in the lineup. Fate, it seems, it not without a sense of irony.
Miller’s nine points put him on track for 16 goals and 37 points over 82 games. Meanwhile the player he was supposed to be replacing as the 1C, Mika Zibanejad, has been the best Rangers forward by a country mile this season. His 7-5-12 line doesn’t jump out at you, but that’s still second among forwards on the Blueshirts. But it’s not just the points, it’s how engaged the two look. Mika looks like a man on a mission. Miller is saying the right things, but it’s clear something is off and/or missing.
This isn’t an effort thing. That version of Miller is long gone. It seems fairly obvious that JT Miller is injured, though what the exact injury is, we don’t know. As is typical with hockey players, Miller is fighting through it and still playing. He’s also putting up decent possession numbers along the way, driving quality chances for and doing fine enough defensively given he gets matched up against top competition nightly.
The thing is, the Rangers can’t score. Miller was brought here to help stabilize the locker room and be a top line scorer. He may have helped the locker room, but he’s not a top line scorer right now. It’s not a skill issue, he’s not declining. His game hasn’t changed. He just seems limited by something, as plays he normally converts are going as missed opportunities. He’s been very passive lately too, as it’s clear this is getting to him.
If JT Miller is injured, then he needs to heal up. It’s November! There’s no reason to have him play through something all season.
But the timing couldn’t be worse. It’s fair to say that if JT Miller is injured, that he should sit. But we just saw how the Rangers looked without Vincent Trocheck, and now we are asking them to do it again with Miller. Maybe if the Rangers recall Gabe Perreault and keep him in New York, they can weather that storm. It wouldn’t be ideal, but they can possibly make it work. But for now Perreault is back in Hartford and Miller is still playing.
Perhaps we are all hoping that JT Miller is injured. It’s better than the only other logical conclusion: That his game is declining. Seems too soon for the latter, so hopefully his injuries magically heal themselves at some point soon.
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