J.T. Miller of the New York Rangers discusses the team's fresh start after a disappointing 2025-26 season where he struggled with injuries and the team fell short of expectations. Miller acknowledges the need for change following key departures like Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, while expressing optimism as he returns to his captain role on a new roster. He emphasizes looking forward rather than dwelling on last year's challenges, highlighting a renewed sense of readiness and hope for improvement in the coming season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
J.T. Miller was measured.
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Miller → measure → ?
Thursday, after all, was just the first day of training camp for the Rangers, and it’ll take weeks’ and months’ worth of games to change the franchise’s trajectory.
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it → take → trajectory
tRY IT NOW“We’re not gonna get ahead of ourselves,” Miller, now back in his old No. 10 jersey, said.
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Miller → try → jersey
But, Miller admitted, this all “seems like a nice reset for us.”
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this → admit → us
A time for the Rangers to “turn the past from last year.”
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Rangers → turn → year
His injury-filled campaign of 2025-26 started in the preseason and continued with three stints of missed time — and two trips to injured reserve — during the regular season.
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campaign → fill → season
His 17 goals and 53 points marked his fewest in both categories since 2018-19 with the Lightning.
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goals → mark → Lightning
And it all unfolded during his first year as captain, stepping into the elevated role and trying to not force himself to do more than he normally would.
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he → unfold → more
This year, the Rangers will get a chance to move past their dismal 77-point campaign of last year.
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Rangers → get → year
It’ll be different from the start, with no Vincent Trocheck (traded in the offseason) and no Artemi Panarin (traded before the Olympic roster freeze) here at this training camp.
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It → trade → camp
But at the crux of it all, of course, will be Miller, who gets a chance to move past his own woes of 2025-26 while occupying a critical role as the second-line center — skating alongside dynamic acquisition Pavel Dorofeyev for now — with Trocheck now in Utah.
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who → get → Utah
“It was a lot last year,” Miller said.
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Miller → say → ?
“Just a little bit of distraction everywhere, it seemed like, around our team.
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it → seem → team
Obviously with The Letter coming out, I was hurt a lot of the year, I was at the Olympics — just a busy season, and I feel like it’s kinda hard to evaluate.
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it → come → Olympics
“But certainly not satisfied and saying that that’s the standard for myself.
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that → say → myself
I mean, we didn’t get to where we want to be, and I took a lot of ownership of that.
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I → mean → that
I just feel fresh right now.
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I → feel → ?
I feel good.
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I → feel → ?
And I’m excited that we get another crack at it this year with a fresh slate.
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we → ’m → slate
That’s the pressure that comes with the “C” sewn on his chest, just as it did for Jacob Trouba and Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan and Mark Messier and all the other past Blueshirts captains.
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it → ’ → Trouba
Miller said he expects more from himself as a leader this year.
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he → say → leader
He said he learned from mistakes last season, which quickly spiraled into selling at the trade deadline and a reality where president and general manager Chris Drury dropped The Letter 2.0.
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Drury → say → Letter
Miller spent time at both center and wing last year in the 68 games he did appear in, and when the Rangers’ first group — with mostly NHL players — skated Thursday, Miller, 33, was positioned between Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
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Miller → spend → Dorofeyev
Dorofeyev collected more than 30 goals the past two seasons with the Golden Knights.
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Dorofeyev → collect → Knights
He was the draft-day splash by the Blueshirts, the hyped acquisition during a public retool who could be the missing piece that tips the Rangers toward being a playoff team in April.
uncertain
that → hype → April
Head coach Mike Sullivan said that Miller’s play-making ability with the puck is “probably undervalued by some,” and Sullivan expressed a belief in Miller being able to serve as the Rangers’ second-line center, indirectly doubling as a belief that his skill set can complement Dorofeyev if they break camp still paired together.
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they → say → camp
“He has the ability to distribute the puck,” Sullivan said of Miller.
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Sullivan → have → Miller
“I think J.T. brings a physical element and a down-low game, a grind game that I think he can drag his linemates into a little bit so they can create some offense different ways.
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they → think → offense
I think [Dorofeyev is] a guy that obviously can score goals, and so we wanted to see what that looks like.”
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that → think → what
That role will only add to the pressure facing Miller this season.
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role → add → Miller
To the expectations that he can avoid the struggles from last year reappearing again and becoming a norm for his second Blueshirts stint.
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struggles → avoid → stint
For one day, those stakes faded with the arrival of a new training camp, where “vibe” and “excitement” and anything else that described palpable energy were the buzzwords of his press conference that captured the emotion of the Rangers’ entire session.
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that → fade → session
“I feel very hungry,” Miller said.
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Miller → feel → ?
“I mean, after a year like last year, I just think in general I think I’m naturally competitive — I’d like to be better, I want the team to play better, I want better results.”
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I → mean → results
The Aporia
