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The Rangers have had a leadership group consisting of five or six players since the 2021-22 season.
That band was cut to three for the first time in 13 years ahead of this season, a reflection of not only how many key players the Blueshirts have had to part with recently, but also how long the organization has opted to empower a broad collective of voices in its locker room — captain or no captain.
The last time the Blueshirts had only three players wearing letters was the last time the team went to the Stanley Cup Final, 2013-14, when Ryan Callahan started the season as captain with Brad Richards and Marc Staal as alternates. Callahan was traded to Tampa Bay in a deal for Martin St. Louis at the trade deadline and Dan Girardi joined as the third alternate before the Rangers lost to the Kings in five games.
With Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin traded away over the last eight and a half months, only Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox remain as alternates under second-year captain J.T. Miller.
“I give a lot of credit to our leadership group,” head coach Mike Sullivan said when asked what’s allowed the Rangers to start and finish games so strongly early in the season. “I think they have a lot to do with it. Just leading by example for starters, first and foremost. I think leadership is a big part of that. I give the guys credit. I think they understand the importance of playing on your toes, playing the game the right way, we want to be a team that doesn’t sit back and sit on our heels and try to defend a lead. We want to be proactive and continue to play on our toes and try to dictate the terms out there. Just do it in a responsible way.
“But I think it boils down to our leadership. I give our veteran guys — J.T., Foxy, Mika — I think those guys are leading the charge there.”
Entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Lightning at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers had only surrendered one first-period goal through seven games, a mark that led the NHL.
Their 10 goals in third periods over that span ranked second in the NHL.
It’s a stark difference from the slow starts and weak finishes that became a trend all of last season. Aside from the season-opening loss in Boston, the Rangers have put forth an unquestionable effort for 60 minutes in each game so far.
Sullivan lauded Miller for leading the charge in rallying the team each game and making sure everyone is in the right mindset for puck drop.
“Mika’s not an overly vocal guy,” Sullivan said. “He’s not a rah-rah guy. I think he leads by example. His professionalism, the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his business every day to prepare himself to be at his very best. Mika’s just a great pro and he’s a good teammate. I think that speaks volumes. People lead in different ways. What I like about this group is we’ve got a pretty good mix. We have some rah-rah guys in there that wear their emotions right on their sleeve, our captain’s one of them.
“Mika brings a little bit of a different approach. Foxy is very similar. But it doesn’t just stop there with the guys with the letters on their sweaters. There’s other guys that step up. Vladdy Gavrikov is a good leader for us. I think Will Cuylle’s an emerging young guy that’s starting to take on more of a leadership role for us.
“That, for me, is a sign of a good team. It’s been fun to be around this group in this early part of the season, but we can feel it, how they’re coming together.”