It's safe to say the 2025-26 season has not gone the way the New York Rangers expected. They went from being a potential playoff team to last place in the Metro division. Instead of reaching the heights promised in the original letter, they released another one. One reason for this bad play has been several players' struggles. People, the Rangers thought they could count on regressing and being nowhere near the player they were expected to be. Here are three players whose struggles have hurt the team this season.
1) J.T. Miller
When the Rangers traded for J.T. Miller last season, they thought they had found their first-line center. Someone who could be the face of the forward core and be one of the main point getters on the team. So far this season, that has not been the case. In 48 games this season, he has 12 goals and 22 assists for 36 points. This is a big step back from last season, when he logged 90 points, and looks nothing like the 100+ point player he was just two seasons ago.
Not only has his play taken a step back, but he is no longer the vocal leader he once was. When he was with Vancouver, he was not afraid to hold his teammates accountable. He was supposed to be the culture changer the Rangers were in desperate need of. It's a big reason why he was named captain before the season. This has not been the case so far this season. Miller has not held any of his teammates accountable, and the locker room has arguably gotten worse.
Now many have been quick to write off these struggles as Miller playing hurt. He looks slow on the ice and does not have the same edge he did. Just look at how he's played at the Olympics. His struggles are much more than the Rangers being bad. But if he's that injury he needs to take himself out of the lineup. Him being "tough" is hurting the team.
2) Vincent Trocheck
At first glance, this comes as a bit of a surprise. On paper, Trocheck is having a better season than he did last season. In 43 games, he has recorded 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points. He's currently on pace for 69 points, which is a ten-point increase from last season. It's also on par with his career averages. This also comes with him having missed 14 games due to an upper-body injury. Just based on that, Trocheck appears to be having a good season.
However, he's disappointed this season for reasons related to his off-ice actions. Going into this season, Trocheck was seen as a leader on this team. A large majority of the fan base and media believe he should have been named captain instead of Miller. Regardless of whether he was the captain, many felt Trocheck's presence would fix the Rangers' culture problem.
But so far this season, that has been far from the case. He looks miserable on the ice and, in the postgame interviews, seems disinterested. Just look at how he answered a question pertaining to the Rangers' 10-2 loss to the Bruins. That is a non-answer and does not give the fans confidence that the team will turn around. Trocheck has gone from being a solution to one of the biggest problems in the locker room.
3) Braden Schneider
Heading into this season it felt like a make or break year for Schneider. He was coming off a career high in points last season. The Rangers had also brought in several veteran defense to take some of the pressure off of Schneider. The hope was not setting Schneider to one pairing would allow him to play his game and not be given too much. That way he could continue to work on his game and get better to earn a spot on a hire pairing.
But this year has seen Schneider take a step back. In 57 games, he has racked up two goals and nine assists for 11 points. He's on pace for about 16 points, which would be his lowest point total since his rookie season in 2021-22. He's also been on the ice for 48 goals against and 176 great danger chances against, according to Natural Stat Trick. Both of which are on track to be the highest of his career.
Schneider play has deteriorated across the board. He went from being someone who was going to take the next step, to someone who may not even finish the season with the team. With him regressing in every aspect, why would the Rangers want to lock him up to a long term deal? The time has come to be just to move on from him and allow another young defenseman to take over.