For parts of the 2024-25 season, Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller played on the same line for the New York Rangers, despite both being natural centers.
Upon acquiring Miller from the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers paired Zibanejad and Miller together, creating a line with two centers.
The two veteran forwards alternated taking faceoffs and seemed to have chemistry with one another.
Now, the Rangers have a new head coach in Mike Sullivan, and the big question is if he’ll keep Zibanejad and Miller together.
Sullivan hinted at being open to the idea of keeping Zibanejad and Miller on the same line.
“As part of that conversation one of the things he expressed to me is even though he lined up on the wing on the face-offs, he felt they were interchangeable in the sense that they could read off each other,” Sullivan said via Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “They both have a comfort level playing down low in the defensive zone. They both have a comfort level in the face-off circle with one being a righty and one being a lefty. He expressed that to me. I would envision us exploring that combination to see if they can potentially build on the chemistry that they've already built.
“Those are three pretty high-quality centermen. I think it's going to play itself out, but certainly the conversations I've had with Mika to this point I would envision us exploring keeping Mika with J.T.”
Once Zibanejad began to play alongside Miller, his improvement was notable, and his confidence skyrocketed.
We’ll likely see a line consisting of Zibanejad, Miller, and Will Cuylle, who should be a productive offensive line, while also serving as the team’s defensive shutdown line.