Trade or sign him? Rangers have massive K’Andre Miller decision to make
You would’ve thought by this stage that the New York Rangers had an easy decision to make with K’Andre Miller. But instead, the Rangers are going to sweat out their call with Miller, whether they re-sign him this offseason, or move on from him.
He’s a big, athletic 25-year-old defenseman, who was a first-round draft pick and has already played 368 NHL games, largely in a shutdown role. That alone screams “re-sign him to a long-term contract.”
But then there’s the flatlining growth curve and declining production the past two seasons. And you question whether he’s the type of player the Rangers should lock down for the next seven seasons or so and trust to figure it out entering his prime years.
Keep Miller and the Rangers could reap the rewards of an emerging stud top-four defenseman moving forward. Or sink under the weight of unfulfilled promise and an expensive contract.
Trade him and the Blueshirts might get a haul from a team eager to get their hands on Miller. But there’s a chance he blossoms into a two-way star and makes Chris Drury and Co. look bad for the next decade, as the Rangers struggle to replace what they had in the first place.
It’s not going to be an easy call this summer. Miller is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights coming off a $3.872 AAV deal; and he and his agent may just want to hit a financial home run just two years out from unrestricted free agency.
“I would trade K’Andre,” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. “I think the issue with K’Andre is that I don’t think the growth has been there in the way I’d like it to be at this point in his career. Now, you can blame that on the state of the Rangers blue line, partners … I would move him at this point.”
Everyone has an opinion. Let’s see how the Forever Blueshirts staff breaks it down.
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Debating whether Rangers should sign or trade K’Andre Miller
Jim Cerny – Executive Editor
In a perfect world, I’d love to see Miller get to play next season under a different coaching staff and defensive system before committing to an expensive long-term contract with him. Probably the only way to do that is take him to arbitration on a one-year deal this summer. The arbitration process is an ugly one, though, and who knows the damage it could cause in Miller’s relationship with the team. But it would provide the Rangers more data to explore and understand if his two-year regression in production, expected goals, high-danger chances against, etc. are a reversable trend or not. Right now, the argument can be made that Miller just didn’t fit well in the man-to-man defensive scheme deployed these past two seasons. That could partly explain why he lost his man so often. But is that an excuse for his often egregious miscues with the puck in his own end? His 97 giveaways this season nearly tripled his total from 2023-24. Anomaly or trend? As for his offensive numbers, Miller gets more defensive zone starts than any other Rangers defenseman. But with his natural ability, 30-40 points per season shouldn’t be out of the question, especially if he gets paired with Adam Fox moving forward. After saying all that, I’d talk to teams to find out what I could get for Miller, then see what kind of money and term he is seeking. My first preference is to sign Miller to a fair but not outrageous contract unless completely blown away by a trade offer.
Related: Rangers free agent K’Andre Miller âwouldnât want to play anywhere else right nowâ
John Kreiser – Senior Writer
Miller has all the physical tools to be an elite NHL defenseman — he’s big, fast and skilled. But even going back to his junior days, I’ve always felt there was something missing. The hockey IQ that would combine with those physical skills just isn’t there. He was a little better after the arrival of Will Borgen at midseason, but I think it’s become apparent he’s never going to become the elite defenseman the Rangers had hoped for. He’s a restricted free agent, so he’s likely to be looking for money and term. Don’t throw him away — but if there’s a good offer on the table, take it.
Dane Walsh – Staff Writer
Miller is a delicate situation that Drury needs to handle properly if he wants to start off on the right foot heading into 2025-26. Miller has shown signs of potential greatness, and his underlying numbers this past season were actually pretty good. His point production dropped, but the same can be said for nearly the entire roster. I donât think Miller has earned that home-run long-term deal just yet, but giving him 1-2 years on a prove-it deal is better than trading him to become a great defenseman elsewhere. I think Miller, along with several other Rangers, deserve a chance to prove themselves with this team.
Tom Castro – Staff Writer
The Rangers face an exceedingly tough call on Miller, who at 25 years old and in possession of an uncommon package of skills, should represent their future on the blue line. Big and rangy, mobile, athletic and offensively talented, Miller should profile as a future top-pair, multitalented defenseman in the Victor Hedman mold. However, Miller’s lack of development over the past two seasons – and in fact, regressive play, especially in 2024-25 – means that the Rangers should seriously consider trading him while he still has at least perceived upside that could net a strong return. His maddening inconsistency and penchant for mindless giveaways and mistakes in his own zone might be characteristic of his game, not something he’ll necessarily grow out of. Furthermore, waiting for Miller to develop isn’t going to be an inexpensive endeavor for the club anymore. Having completed a two-year, $7.7 million bridge deal, the restricted free agent is ready to sign a long-term contract. That’s a dicey proposition for a Rangers team that’s watched him trend in the wrong direction for two full seasons now. Though moving on from such an enticing talent is risky, trading him and continuing the makeover of the defense that general manager Drury began this season seems like the smart bet, as there’s simply too much uncertainty surrounding Miller’s future to commit long-term to him.
Eric Charles – Staff Writer
While free agent defensemen such as Vladislav Gavrikov and Ivan Provorov could slide into the top pair with Adam Fox for the foreseeable future, each is older and likely more expensive than Miller, who’s just entering his prime. This season was rough for the 25-year-old, but the Rangers can take advantage of the smooth skating defensemen’s down season by getting him at a better value and upside than those top left-shot d-men on the market. Maturity is right around the corner for Miller on a team that’s culture is bound for a reality check in other ways. It’s defensemen like him that tend to thrive with maturity come the postseason. Retaining him, shedding Carson Soucy’s contract, trading Zac Jones and draft capital should be enough to bring in a reliable player with less term for a top-four role behind Miller, like, say, the rugged Mario Ferraro. This would be my plan A unless Miller’s asking price becomes too much (more than $6.5 million per year). Trading him and watching him turn into an even better version of his current self as he matures would be as irritating as watching Pavel Buchnevich prosper with the St. Louis Blues after Drury quickly dumped him in 2021.
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