No Vancouver Canucks Fan Saw This Coming From J.T. Miller After the Way He Left the Organization
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
An NHL insider says that he was surprised to see former Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller named the 29th captain in New York Rangers franchise history.
Last week ahead of the opening of training camp for their 100th season in the National Hockey League, the New York Rangers decided to name former Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller captain as he gets set to start the campaign with the club for the first time 2017 after spending parts of the last seven years elsewhere.
"We're pleased to announce J.T. Miller as the new captain of the New York Rangers. Since his arrival last season, J.T. immediately became a leader for our group and exemplifies how we want to conduct ourselves both on and off the ice. Congratulations to J.T. and his entire family on an incredibly meaningful achievement and we're confident he will continue to represent our organization with class, commitment, and integrity." Drury said.
Miller was one of a number of solid candidates that could've worn the 'C' in New York, including Vincent Trochek, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin, but some were surprised with the decision to go with the former Vancouver Canuck.
NHL insider surprised by New York Rangers' decision to name J.T. Miller captain
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman was a guest on Donnie & Dhali on Monday where he was asked about the Rangers' decision to name J.T. Miller captain and he said that he was surprised.
Friedman went on to add that he honestly thought that the Rangers were going to go with Vincent Trochek, who is gearing up for his fourth season in New York and 12th in the National Hockey League.
However, Friedman also shared that he believes the reason why the Rangers went with Miller had to do with the fact that he wasn't around for all of last season, a year that was incredibly tough and disappointing for the organization on the ice.
"I was a little bit surprised, but what I think they are saying here is that last year was not acceptable and they want to completely turn the page on it. To be honest, Don, I thought they would go with Trochek, I really did. I thought he was going to be the guy, but they didn't and basically I think it was the New York Rangers saying 'what happened last year is over, what happened last year was unacceptable and we are going to turn the page and that's why we're going to have a new player or relatively new player wear the captain's C, someone who really wasn't tied into last year.'" Friedman said.
He added, "I think that was their thought process. I mean look, everyone knows that last year in Vancouver, Miller was a big part of what went wrong. Everybody gets a chance to start over again and everyone gets a chance to prove this year is different. You're going through that this year with Pettersson, he's trying to show that this year is different and better. But I do think he [Miller] was named the captain in New York because they didn't want anyone tainted by last year to be wearing it. That's the way I saw it myself."
He added, "I think that was their thought process. I mean look, everyone knows that last year in Vancouver, Miller was a big part of what went wrong. Everybody gets a chance to start over again and everyone gets a chance to prove this year is different. You're going through that this year with Pettersson, he's trying to show that this year is different and better. But I do think he [Miller] was named the captain in New York because they didn't want anyone tainted by last year to be wearing it. That's the way I saw it myself."
Miller has yet to suit up for a game this preseason with the 'C' on his chest, but he could get his first opportunity to do so on Thursday night when the Rangers host the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden.
Previously on CanucksDaily
