Recapping the Rangers’ Busy First Day of Free Agency

It is projected that he will play alongside Adam Fox, and he will be the best player Fox has been paired with in his career so far. He is an upgrade over Ryan Lindgren and is an upgrade over the other left-handed defensemen still on the team; he plays a simple game and can maybe take some of the pressure off of Fox when they are paired together. He’s not going to provide much offense, but his play defensively is going to be a much-needed addition to a team that has lacked a player like Gavrikov for far too long.

The Re-Signing of Will Cuylle & Adding Some Depth Players

One of the other questions the Rangers needed to answer was what kind of deal they would give to Will Cuylle. He was a restricted free agent coming off a 20-goal season, and there were rumors that other teams were thinking of offer sheeting because they value the type of player that he is. While there were not many rumors suggesting he wanted to leave New York, the thought of him getting an offer sheet was still in the back of many fans’ minds. However, fans didn’t have to worry for too long as it was announced that Cuylle and the team came to an agreement on a two-year deal worth $3.9 million per season.

Cuylle was one of the bright spots on the team last season, as it seemed he was the only player who was giving it his all every shift he had. With the ability to score goals and play a physical game, he is a power forward this team has been lacking for many years now. For at least the next two seasons, the Rangers are hoping he can build on what he did last season and become an impact player for them for years to come.

The Rangers also made some other signings to help fill out some of the depth on their roster. The main addition was Taylor Raddysh — who is 27 years old and played in 80 games last season for the Washington Capitals, recording seven goals and 27 points — on a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per season. He will likely be battling for a bottom-six role next season, but he is a player who can bring some scoring and some physicality to the bottom six. The Rangers also signed Justin Dowling to a two-year deal and defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a two-year deal. Both of these players will likely just be playing in the American Hockey League, but could be called up in case of injuries.

Trading K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes

While it had been speculated for some time that the Rangers wanted to trade K’Andre Miller, nobody was expecting them to trade him to a division rival. It seemed like they were not getting the offers they wanted on Miller leading up to the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and afterwards, it looked like they might end up keeping him on a short-term deal. However, after the signing of Gavrikov, it was announced they were working on a deal that would send him to the Carolina Hurricanes. While it took a few hours to figure out the return, it turned out to be a very good one for the Rangers.

The deal was a sign-and-trade, and Miller, who was signed to an eight-year deal worth $7.5 million per season, was traded to the Hurricanes in exchange for a 2026 conditional first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and defenseman Scott Morrow. The condition on the first-round pick is that the Rangers will receive the higher of Carolina’s or Dallas’ first-round pick.

This trade seems like a major win for the Rangers, in the sense that they got a good return for a player that they did not want anymore. They added some draft capital for next season that they can either use to add to their prospect pool, or they could use in future trades to help improve the team. They also got a young defenseman in Morrow, who was one of the Hurricanes’ top prospects; he already has some NHL experience and could be on the Rangers roster to start next season. Miller never quite got to the level many were hoping he would in New York, and now was the time to move off of him as he was looking for big money and still had some good trade value around the league. While he might turn into a good player for Carolina and haunt the Rangers for the next eight years, he was never going to turn into that player in New York, so this trade is good for both sides.

While the rest of the offseason might be quieter in terms of other moves the Rangers could make, they made a big splash on day one and the team could be better for it going into next season. They got the defenseman they wanted in Gavrikov, they were able to re-sign Cuylle, they got a great trade return for Miller, and added some depth pieces along the way. The Rangers want to put last season behind them and move into 2025-26 with the mindset that they are a better team with a chance of winning the Stanley Cup. They took the first steps to doing that by making these moves, and hopefully, they pay off sooner rather than later.