Rangers Head Coach Weighing Lineup Decision on Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller

“I would envision us exploring that (Zibanejad-Miller) combination to see if they can potentially build on the chemistry that they’ve already built,” Sullivan said.

Chemistry and Flexibility Will Be at Mike Sullivan's Forefront

Zibanejad already shifted to the wing after Miller arrived in New York and saw a noticeable boost in production, scoring 33 points in 32 games to close out the season.

Miller, meanwhile, found similar success with 35 points over the same stretch after scoring 35 points in 40 games for Vancouver before the trade, showing signs of the two working effectively as interchangeable pieces.

Sullivan said his early talks with Zibanejad reinforced the value of the partnership.

"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.

The Challenge of Balancing the Rangers' Lineup

The new Rangers head coach’s decision, however, could create one of the NHL’s more potent top-six groups... while generating concerns elsewhere due to the lack of depth across the roster.

If Zibanejad and Miller are paired in the second forward line, the Rangers would lean into a top-heavy structure also featuring a one-two punch in the first line featuring Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.

That would leave the third line unsettled and with a glaring lack of talent, as it'd be headlined by Juuso Parssinen and Jonny Brodzinski.

Depth forwards such as Taylor Raddysh, Brennan Othmann, Gabe Perreault, Brett Berard, and Conor Sheary are among the players who would fill the rest of the lineup, which wouldn't be quite optimal for New York.

On the other hand, by splitting Zibanejad and Miller into two different lines, each of them centering one, the Rangers could feature a weaker set of wingers due to Zibanejad's move to the pivot, while having three bona fide stars centering each of the top three lines nightly.