New York Rangers hit a pivotal point as trade talks heat up surrounding star defenseman
Photo credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
According to reports from NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, it looks as if GM Chris Drury will not runback the current New York Rangers defensive core. K'Andre Miller could be the next piece shipped out for the ongoing retool.
The New York Rangers need cap space. They also could use a pick-up in their blueline, as this year Rangers' defense wasn't capable of getting the job done.
Miller was a part of the core who would end the year with a +1 goal differential, and that was nowhere good enough to hang with the big boys in the Eastern Conference like they've done so before.
Miller, like a multitude of Rangers players, experienced a significant decline in production this season, scoring only 27 points (7-20), only two seasons removed from his 43-point season in 2022-23.
Now, it looks as if the pending RFA will not be qualified or signed by the Rangers; instead, a trade for his rights could happen, though.
If what Seravalli says is true, we should expect the Rangers' entire blueline to look completely different by the time October rolls around.
The risk of trading Miller will come with the team having to backfill the spot left by his absence. Which may be costly rather than just paying his raise and keeping him in the top-four of the defensive core.
It'd likely be addition by subtraction, though:
Should the Rangers move him, they would get a package of assets in return and gain some cap flexibility since they'd no longer need to pay for Miller's raise.
Miller's two-year, $3.87 million contract expires at the end of the year, and the way it looks so will his time in New York.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
| POLL | ||
JUIN 21 | 1136 ANSWERS New York Rangers hit a pivotal point as trade talks heat up surrounding star defenseman Should GM Chris Drury trade defenseman K'Andre Miller, a New York Rangers RFA? | ||
| Yes | 949 | 83.5 % |
| No | 187 | 16.5 % |
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