Rangers Still Right to Trade K’Andre Miller Almost a Year Later

About a year later, the debate continues over whether the New York Rangers were right to trade K’Andre Miller. While fans may look back and argue that the organization should have kept him around, the return still doesn’t look too bad, and I would argue the Rangers were more than right to trade him, despite the 2018 first-round pick finding considerable success almost a year after the deal.

The full trade sent Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Scott Morrow, the Dallas Stars’ 2026 first-rounder and a 2026 second-round pick.

Works Out For Both Teams

At the time, it was hard not to be happy with the return. The Rangers got themselves a promising young puck-moving defenseman and two other major assets.

What did change, however, is that the Hurricanes have made the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years, with Miller playing a big role in it. But multiple things can be true: Miller made the Hurricanes better, and the trade still makes sense for the Rangers and potentially benefits them down the line.

The reality is the 25-year-old wouldn’t have changed much for the Blueshirts, who finished in the bottom three in the standings. For much of 2025-26, the Rangers struggled to score, with the team finishing 23rd in the league in goals for per game, according to NHL data. Miller wasn’t changing that; he doesn’t put up points. That’s not his game.

But that’s not why the Hurricanes traded for him. They simply bet on his elite skating, and that head coach Rod Brind’Amour would be able to find more consistency in Miller’s game in a system that dominates possession in the offensive zone. The Hurricanes were right, and so were the Rangers, who would have almost definitely finished near the bottom of the standings regardless.

Jury Still Out

Keep in mind that we are just one full season into the trade. While it looks more unlikely now that Morrow will have a future with the Rangers, it’s not yet a foregone conclusion.

Plus, trading Miller gave Matthew Robertson a chance, who may have been the most impressive Ranger all season. Not too long ago, the 2019 second-round pick was looking like a major disappointment and that his days would be numbered in the organization. But this season, Robertson gave fans hope that he could be a long-term option for the Rangers in the top four.

But again, we need to wait and see if that’s the case. Another overlooked element of the trade was that it freed up cap space to sign Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract.

We also need to see what the Rangers do with their 26th-overall pick and the other pick acquired from Carolina. Will they use them both to draft prospects or flip them in trades for a young, promising player? The jury is still out on this trade, and we probably won’t know who came out as the clear winner for at least another year.