Ex-Rangers defenseman addresses doubters: ‘can’t wait for them to see my ring’
Two weeks shy of the one-year anniversary of the trade which sent him from the New York Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes, K’Andre Miller basked in the moment Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena. He’s a Stanley Cup champion.
And Miller had a clear message for all those who didn’t believe in him nor his long-term viability as an upper-echelon defenseman in the NHL, a long list that no doubt includes Rangers general manager Chris Drury.
“I had a lot of people count me out. I had a lot of people talking shit. So, yeah, I don’t know. I can’t wait for them to see my ring,” Miller told Daily Faceoff reporter Jonny Lazarus after the Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 to win their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
Now, to be fair, never did Drury — nor anyone from the Rangers organization – bad-mouth Miller, nor did their former first-round draft pick say that. But for sure the 26-year-old carries a chip on his shoulder because the Rangers opted to trade him to a division rival rather than invest in him long-term last offseason when he was a year away from unrestricted free agency.
They did so after five seasons with Miller being a top-four fixture on their defense corps. In that span, the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times, including the Eastern Conference Final twice, and won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top regular-season team in 2023-24.
But a drop in offensive production, and a propensity for untimely turnovers and mistakes in his own end was Miller’s undoing in New York. Especially with the Rangers up against the salary cap and set on trying to sign veteran top-pair defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency, Miller was no longer part of the core moving forward, and expendable last summer.
The Rangers traded Miller to the Hurricanes on July 1 for defenseman Scott Morrow, and a first- and second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. This after the Hurricanes appeared set to offer sheet the restricted free agent. Carolina ultimately signed him to an eight-year, $60 million contract.
Both the Hurricanes and their new defenseman talked about how well Miller would fit into their style of play, not to mention how he’d benefit from the different lifestyle in Raleigh. And Miller delivered in his first season with the Hurricanes. He averaged 22:24 TOI and recorded 37 points (eight goals, 29 assists) in 72 games. Then in the postseason, Miller led all Hurricanes skaters by averaging 24:03 TOI, and finished with nine assists in 19 games. At one point, he was considered a contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, though that award ultimately was won by Carolina captain Jordan Staal.
“I’m just happy to be a Carolina Hurricane and get the opportunity to do this again next year,” he told Lazarus.
Miller had one assist in the six-game Final, and was minus-2, though he posted a plus-2 in the decisive Game 6 victory. His plus-12 in the postseason was third-best among NHL skaters, just behind teammate Taylor Hall (plus-14) and Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb (plus-13).
When asked by Lazarus if he was going to “talk your shit” or be himself, referencing New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson after winning the NBA title Saturday, Miller smiled, “I don’t know, we’ll see. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
