Mike Sullivan is trying to sell a story that nobody is buying, and it's the latest in a long series of interesting quotes about the 2025-26 New York Rangers.
What has the Rangers captain been doing since his return from injury? According to Sullivan, he’s "trying to build his game" and working on "conditioning." It’s an answer that would make sense for a depth player fighting for a roster spot in October... but for J.T. Miller in mid-March? During a Letter 2.0 retool? It feels less like an evaluation and more like a total dismissal of reality. My use of feels here is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Have they gotten his best this year?
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) March 19, 2026
“No, I think there's another level to his game that we know is there. That, obviously, we're trying to help him capture. I feel like, when he was building traction and traction and getting close every time, we felt like, ‘Okay, his game is…
Ignoring the gold medal in the room
The most absurd part of Sullivan's "conditioning" narrative is that it completely ignores what happened just a few weeks ago in Milan. Miller didn't just play in the Olympics, he was a focal point of a Team USA squad that won gold. He looked plenty conditioned while helping the Americans go a perfect 17-for-17 on the penalty kill. He did miss five games recently, but given everything that's happened this year, that is something that should work in Miller's favor.
To suggest now that he is struggling to capture another level because of timing or endurance is a tough pill to swallow. If he was healthy enough to chase Olympic hardware in February, the idea that he’s suddenly a step behind in mid-March points to a much larger issue. And if there's something going on that is preventing him from competing, that's an entirely different kettle of fish worth investigating. The NHL infamously doesn't like to be honest about injuries, and if they aren't doing that in this case, again... another kettle of fish.
Miller needs to step up and lead by example
Sullivan’s insistence on playing a clearly hampered Miller, and moving productive rookies like Gabe Perreault down the lineup on the power play to accommodate him, is where the frustration really sets in given how things have gone this season. Perreault and Noah Laba were the biggest winners of the post-Olympic stretch, thriving in the minutes Miller left behind. Laba was injured against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, and will miss Thursday's game. Assuming it isn't a significant ailment, he should be given the green light the rest of the way.
By forcing Miller back into top-six minutes and the first power-play unit, Sullivan is actively standing in the way of the youth movement. If Miller "isn't at his best," as Sullivan admits, why is he being treated like a work-in-progress project at the expense of players who are actually part of the future?
Enough is enough already
Miller has already missed a significant amount of hockey this year with separate stints on IR. His latest upper-body issue, possibly a concussion, was enough to sideline him for several games, and his very loud minus-24 rating is a glaring indicator of how much he’s struggling to impact the game at 5v5.
Miller joined the Rangers from the Vancouver Canucks prior to last year's deadline and had an instant impact, posting 13 goals, 22 assists, and 35 points in just 32 games. Injuries have clearly hampered his effectiveness this year, though he was somehow able to string together two weeks of impactful hockey for Team USA. He's only got 14 goals, 25 assists, and 39 points in 54 games, and the juxtaposition speaks to how precipitous his drop-off has been.
If there is truly another level to his game that he hasn't hit yet, the Rangers aren't going to find it in the final 14 games of a lost season. The most logical decision, the one the organization seems allergic to making, is to shut the captain down. Let him actually heal, let the kids run free, and stop pretending that a few extra minutes of a building J.T. Miller is worth more than the development of the next generation. At this point it feels like selfishness and being too prideful, and he's having the opposite intended effect. The best way he can be there and support his team is by stepping aside and watching on.
Sullivan says he's trying to help Miller "capture" his game... but at this point, the only thing the Rangers should be capturing is a better lottery spot and some much-needed credibility for their retool.