Pros & Cons of the Rangers Trading K’Andre Miller

The upside is there to turn into a shutdown defenseman if given a chance elsewhere; president and general manager Chris Drury is aware of that. That’s a big risk, making it that much more important that the front office capitalizes on the return.

Con: Finding Someone With as Much Upside Won’t Be Easy

That leads to the next con. Maybe the Rangers can take a chance on someone younger with a different playing style, like Buffalo Sabres’ Bowen Byram – but finding a defenseman in his early or mid-20s with as much upside as Miller in the market this offseason won’t be easy.

Some other younger players that could be available are Samuel Girard of the Colorado Avalanche and Mattias Samuelsson, another of the Sabres, as both made the top 20 in Frank Seravalli’s trade bait list. But overall, it looks like a less-than-inspiring market for defensemen this offseason.

Pros: Avoiding a Risky Contract

Miller has been a mixed bag throughout his career. There are times he looks like the prime version of Marc Staal and shuts down some of the top players in the game, but too often, his frustrating defensive lapses or turnovers leave more to be desired. Last season, Miller posted an expected goals for percentage of 47.86 percent in 72 games at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick. Sure, Will Borgen and Jacob Trouba haven’t been the most ideal partners, but Miller has been far from perfect.

And the question is, what does his next contract look like? It will depend on various factors such as the term offered and market demand. On the highest end, The Athletic thinks the term can go as high as seven years at a $7.48 million average annual value (from “Breaking down K’Andre Miller: What he does, what he’s worth and what the Rangers should do,” The Athletic, 6/17/25). That number would be tough to justify for a second-pairing defenseman. However, The Athletic’s market valuation currently pegs Miller’s next contract at a $5.94 million AAV. That’s a little more reasonable again – but that may be too high for Drury, who has just $12.1 million in cap space to work this offseason with before signing the RFA, according to PuckPedia.

Pro: Cashing in on an Asset

As noted before, the availability of prime defensemen is weak, but that plays to the advantage of the Rangers when selling off Miller. You can make the case that Miller is the most valuable defenseman in the rumor mill, currently. In fact, Seravalli has him as the second-ranked one on his trade board, only trailing Byram.

The hockey insider also notes that “there have been 12-15 teams in the mix on Miller in recent weeks.” So, there could be a huge market for Miller. You have to wonder if he can even bring back a top 10 pick in next year’s draft. Or maybe it’s a protected first-round pick next year, a top prospect and perhaps a mid-round draft pick. The worst-case scenario is that a team submits an offer sheet with an AAV that lands between $4.68 million and $7.02 million; the Rangers would get back both a first and a third-round pick as compensation if they don’t match.

But if the organization is going to move on from Miller, now is the time to do it. It’s an opportunity to get a prime asset and avoid making a long-term commitment. The challenge that presents itself, however, is finding a replacement, which won’t be easy.