Though the New York Rangers’ postseason ended with a disappointing first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils, there were some positive takeaways from this season. A few young players played very well, including lefty defenseman K’Andre Miller, who at times played like a star. This was the final year of his three-year entry-level contract and he deserves a long-term extension.
Miller’s Play This Season
As a rookie, during the 2020-21 season, Miller established himself as a top-four defenseman, playing alongside Jacob Trouba. He played well during the 2021-22 season, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists while playing all 82 games.
This season, Miller took his game to another level. He used his excellent speed to make defensive plays, catching opponents from behind on odd-man rushes. He also has a long reach and had very good timing when he stick-checked. At times he relied too much on it, but he started playing with a little more physicality as the season went on.
Early in the season, Miller played cautiously in the offensive zone, looking to dump the puck in or deferring to teammates instead of joining the rush. He had no goals and eight assists in his first 26 games. With the Rangers struggling, the young blueliner started using his speed to his advantage offensively and even scored on a few odd-man rushes. He also scored a memorable game-tying goal with less than one second remaining in a comeback victory over the Dallas Stars in January.
Miller also started holding on to the puck and looking to make plays in the offensive zone more often and made some great cross-ice passes to set up teammates. Though he rarely got opportunities on the power play, he consistently generated offense at even strength, and he had nine goals and 26 assists in his final 53 games of the season. All but three of his points came at even strength.
Possibility of a Long-Term Extension
The Rangers do not have much cap flexibility right now with Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Jacob Trouba, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Barclay Goodrow all signed to deals with three or more years remaining. Goodrow is the most likely of the players to be moved as he has a modified no-trade clause, but he also has by far the smallest cap hit of those players at under $4 million.
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Additionally, star goalie Igor Shetserkin has only two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit under $6 million and he will almost certainly get a big raise on his next contract.
While there are a lot of factors that make it difficult for the Rangers to give Miller a long-term extension now, he has improved each season and could raise his value even more if that trend continues. If he starts getting more power play ice time under newly hired head coach Peter Laviolette, it’s likely he will produce more points.
Another possibility for the Rangers in the offseason is trading one of their skilled young forwards which could save some money and make it easier to give Miller a long-term deal. In 2018, the team signed Brady Skjei to a six-year, $31.5 million contract when he was 24. In 2021, Fox signed a seven-year, $66.5 million contract when he was 23. A long-term deal for Miller, who is 23, would likely fall somewhere in the middle of those two deals.
For Miller & the Rangers Moving Forward
Miller was a force at both ends of the ice for long stretches this season and was a difference-maker for the Rangers. They will rely heavily on him next season, especially since they lack depth on the left side of their defense. He certainly deserves a long-term deal, and he has proven that he is not only a valuable player right now, but an integral part of the team’s future.
