Latest news with #ForeverBlueshirts
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Trade or sign him? Rangers have massive K'Andre Miller decision to make
You would've thought by this stage that the New York Rangers had an easy decision to make with K'Andre Miller. But instead, the Rangers are going to sweat out their call with Miller, whether they re-sign him this offseason, or move on from him. He's a big, athletic 25-year-old defenseman, who was a first-round draft pick and has already played 368 NHL games, largely in a shutdown role. That alone screams 're-sign him to a long-term contract.' But then there's the flatlining growth curve and declining production the past two seasons. And you question whether he's the type of player the Rangers should lock down for the next seven seasons or so and trust to figure it out entering his prime years. Keep Miller and the Rangers could reap the rewards of an emerging stud top-four defenseman moving forward. Or sink under the weight of unfulfilled promise and an expensive contract. Advertisement Trade him and the Blueshirts might get a haul from a team eager to get their hands on Miller. But there's a chance he blossoms into a two-way star and makes Chris Drury and Co. look bad for the next decade, as the Rangers struggle to replace what they had in the first place. It's not going to be an easy call this summer. Miller is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights coming off a $3.872 AAV deal; and he and his agent may just want to hit a financial home run just two years out from unrestricted free agency. 'I would trade K'Andre,' ESPN's Greg Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. 'I think the issue with K'Andre is that I don't think the growth has been there in the way I'd like it to be at this point in his career. Now, you can blame that on the state of the Rangers blue line, partners … I would move him at this point.' Everyone has an opinion. Let's see how the Forever Blueshirts staff breaks it down. Advertisement Related: Massive Rangers opportunity after Mike Sullivan leaves Penguins, becomes option as coach Debating whether Rangers should sign or trade K'Andre Miller Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images Jim Cerny – Executive Editor In a perfect world, I'd love to see Miller get to play next season under a different coaching staff and defensive system before committing to an expensive long-term contract with him. Probably the only way to do that is take him to arbitration on a one-year deal this summer. The arbitration process is an ugly one, though, and who knows the damage it could cause in Miller's relationship with the team. But it would provide the Rangers more data to explore and understand if his two-year regression in production, expected goals, high-danger chances against, etc. are a reversable trend or not. Right now, the argument can be made that Miller just didn't fit well in the man-to-man defensive scheme deployed these past two seasons. That could partly explain why he lost his man so often. But is that an excuse for his often egregious miscues with the puck in his own end? His 97 giveaways this season nearly tripled his total from 2023-24. Anomaly or trend? As for his offensive numbers, Miller gets more defensive zone starts than any other Rangers defenseman. But with his natural ability, 30-40 points per season shouldn't be out of the question, especially if he gets paired with Adam Fox moving forward. After saying all that, I'd talk to teams to find out what I could get for Miller, then see what kind of money and term he is seeking. My first preference is to sign Miller to a fair but not outrageous contract unless completely blown away by a trade offer. Advertisement Related: Rangers free agent K'Andre Miller 'wouldn't want to play anywhere else right now' John Kreiser – Senior Writer Miller has all the physical tools to be an elite NHL defenseman — he's big, fast and skilled. But even going back to his junior days, I've always felt there was something missing. The hockey IQ that would combine with those physical skills just isn't there. He was a little better after the arrival of Will Borgen at midseason, but I think it's become apparent he's never going to become the elite defenseman the Rangers had hoped for. He's a restricted free agent, so he's likely to be looking for money and term. Don't throw him away — but if there's a good offer on the table, take it. Dane Walsh – Staff Writer Miller is a delicate situation that Drury needs to handle properly if he wants to start off on the right foot heading into 2025-26. Miller has shown signs of potential greatness, and his underlying numbers this past season were actually pretty good. His point production dropped, but the same can be said for nearly the entire roster. I don't think Miller has earned that home-run long-term deal just yet, but giving him 1-2 years on a prove-it deal is better than trading him to become a great defenseman elsewhere. I think Miller, along with several other Rangers, deserve a chance to prove themselves with this team. Tom Castro – Staff Writer The Rangers face an exceedingly tough call on Miller, who at 25 years old and in possession of an uncommon package of skills, should represent their future on the blue line. Big and rangy, mobile, athletic and offensively talented, Miller should profile as a future top-pair, multitalented defenseman in the Victor Hedman mold. However, Miller's lack of development over the past two seasons – and in fact, regressive play, especially in 2024-25 – means that the Rangers should seriously consider trading him while he still has at least perceived upside that could net a strong return. His maddening inconsistency and penchant for mindless giveaways and mistakes in his own zone might be characteristic of his game, not something he'll necessarily grow out of. Furthermore, waiting for Miller to develop isn't going to be an inexpensive endeavor for the club anymore. Having completed a two-year, $7.7 million bridge deal, the restricted free agent is ready to sign a long-term contract. That's a dicey proposition for a Rangers team that's watched him trend in the wrong direction for two full seasons now. Though moving on from such an enticing talent is risky, trading him and continuing the makeover of the defense that general manager Drury began this season seems like the smart bet, as there's simply too much uncertainty surrounding Miller's future to commit long-term to him. Eric Charles – Staff Writer While free agent defensemen such as Vladislav Gavrikov and Ivan Provorov could slide into the top pair with Adam Fox for the foreseeable future, each is older and likely more expensive than Miller, who's just entering his prime. This season was rough for the 25-year-old, but the Rangers can take advantage of the smooth skating defensemen's down season by getting him at a better value and upside than those top left-shot d-men on the market. Maturity is right around the corner for Miller on a team that's culture is bound for a reality check in other ways. It's defensemen like him that tend to thrive with maturity come the postseason. Retaining him, shedding Carson Soucy's contract, trading Zac Jones and draft capital should be enough to bring in a reliable player with less term for a top-four role behind Miller, like, say, the rugged Mario Ferraro. This would be my plan A unless Miller's asking price becomes too much (more than $6.5 million per year). Trading him and watching him turn into an even better version of his current self as he matures would be as irritating as watching Pavel Buchnevich prosper with the St. Louis Blues after Drury quickly dumped him in 2021.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Examining alternatives if Rangers don't trade Chris Kreider this offseason
It feels like there's a better than 50-50 chance the New York Rangers move on from Chris Kreider and trade the 34-year-old forward this offseason. But there's certainly a world where the longest-tenured current Rangers player remains on the roster next season. It'd seem prudent that the Rangers take the least sentimental approach and trade Kreider this summer. This is especially so after general manager Chris Drury included Kreider's name in the infamous trade memo to the other 31 GMs in November. Advertisement You can review the reasons why the Rangers should trade Kreider in an article published last week here at Forever Blueshirts. But here, let's focus on what happens if the Rangers don't cut ties with Kreider. In that scenario, the Rangers retain his $6.5 million AAV, which runs through 2026-27 and have roughly $8.42 million in available salary-cap space to work with this offseason. Much — all? — of that is needed to re-sign restricted free agents K'Andre Miller, Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom. Zac Jones and Arthur Kaliyev are also RFAs, but not sure how they can be re-signed, even at modest deals, with so little cap space and others in line ahead of them. You may have heard that the NHL salary cap increases significantly next season to $95.5 million, a jump of $7.5 million. So, where is all that extra space for the Rangers? Well, it's been pretty much eaten up with extensions for Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere, Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and Juuso Parssinen, each of which kick in next season. Advertisement So, with all that said, what are the Rangers options if Kreider returns for the 2025-26 season? Related: Resurrecting Mika Zibanejad's game is major Mike Sullivan challenge with Rangers Alternative options if Rangers don't trade Chris Kreider this offseason Danny Wild-Imagn Images Run it back Does Drury believe he's tweaked the core enough by trading away some players and adding the likes of J.T. Miller and Borgen last season? Is that the level of change he sought? Likely not. It's hard to imagine Drury has the stomach to run it back with the same cast that closed out this past season six points out of a playoff spot and woefully underperformed throughout 2024-25. Advertisement But if Kreider isn't traded, one of the Rangers options is to stay the course and trust that new coach Mike Sullivan can help guide this current group back into the postseason. Remember, this core, by and large, did win the Presidents' Trophy two seasons ago. The Rangers could run it back, likely with better results than this past season, and focus on the 2025-26 offseason, when they currently project to have $38 million in available space to do their serious retooling. A lot can change between now and then, but as of today Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, Kyle Connor and Artemi Panarin project to be free agents in 2026. Back to the task at hand here. In this 'run-it-back' scenario, Kreider likely lands on the third line, and remains on the penalty kill and one of the power-play units. To keep it simple, let's assume for this project that the Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Lafreniere line remains intact, and Mika Zibanejad plays right wing on a line with J.T. Miller and Cuylle. Advertisement Assuming the fourth line will be Sam Carrick centering for the Twin Towers of Rempe and Edstrom, that leaves Kreider on the third line with Parssinen or Jonny Bordzinski in the middle and one of Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard or Parssinen on the other wing. Perhaps Noah Laba could work his way into the mix as third-line center. If Zibanejad lines up at center, he and Kreider could be reunited on that third line and a top-six role opens up for the skilled prospect Perreault, or perhaps Othmann, Parssinen or Berard. Or in this case, Kreider could move back up into a top-six role if healthy and productive. If this has the look and feel and of same-old, same-old, well, that's because it is. Trade Mika Zibanejad or Artemi Panarin This option is possible, if unlikely. Not to mention it would be very, very difficult, considering both Zibanejad and Panarin have full no-move clauses. Moving either would be the ultimate shake-up to this core, though the Rangers would then need to replace quite a bit of lost production in the lineup. Advertisement Again, moving either veteran is highly unlikely. But just for information purposes, the Rangers would save $11.64 million against the cap by trading Panarin, who has one season remaining on his mega-deal. Zibanejad makes $8.5 million annually through 2029-30. Trade Alexis Lafreniere Again, an unlikely option, but a possibility nonetheless. The Rangers committed to a long-term extension with Lafreniere last season, and despite a poor showing in 2024-25, he's the type player you build around and give more responsibility to moving forward. Lafreniere will be 24 next season and did score 28 goals two years ago, not to mention how he didn't wilt in the 2024 postseason. Trading Lafreniere is somewhat appealing because it frees up $7.45 million under the cap and you'd assume the Rangers could get a sizeable return for the former No. 1 overall pick. Still, that feels like a panic move and short-sighted. Trade K'Andre Miller K'Andre Miller is obviously not a forward, but the Rangers have an important decision to make on the 25-year-old defenseman's long-term future. He's a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, due a sizeable raise, and can be a UFA in 2027. But his wonky inconsistent play the past two seasons doesn't necessarily have him on a linear path to someone you can trust and invest in long term. Advertisement Signing him this summer likely means $6 million-plus added to the budget, and is probably the way the Rangers go, especially if they view Miller as Adam Fox's long-term partner. They could trade him, receive a solid return, but then be in the position of investing in a replacement. Again, this feels unlikely, unless Drury and Sullivan don't believe in Miller and would rather cut ties. Again, whatever cap savings there'd be would go into paying his replacement. Trade Carson Soucy It's hard to tell how much the Rangers value Carson Soucy. In the minds of the hierarchy, Soucy might be a partner for Fox, a second-pair staple with Borgen, on the third pairing, or be a swing 6th-7th defenseman. Really, who knows? He was so-so after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks ahead of the trade deadline. Advertisement If he's not a keeper, the Rangers could free up $3.25 million by trading him. Soucy does have a 12-team no-trade clause, but that shouldn't stand in the way of a deal. That would give the Rangers some wiggle room financially, though another defenseman would be needed on the roster and could mean Jones is back in the mix as an affordable and familiar option. Related Headlines
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What's next for Rangers GM after contract extension, including clearing air with Mika Zibanejad
After overseeing one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, Chris Drury landed a contract extension to remain as president and general manager last week. You can view that one of two ways. Owner James Dolan has blind faith in the man he hand-picked back in 2021, the one he wanted so badly to be in charge of the operation that he canned popular team president John Davidson after two years on the job, and sent GM Jeff Gorton packing, as well. Or Dolan has taken in the big picture, sees a Presidents' Trophy and two trips to the Eastern Conference Final in four seasons, and truly believes in Drury's vision of remaking the roster to rise from the ashes of 2024-25. Advertisement Maybe it's a combination of both. Certainly it appears the public timing of the contract extension was meant to send a message to the players that Drury is in charge, no matter how much they complain about him and/or his methods. 'The fact that they did this is a shot across the bow at the locker room to say 'You should know who's in charge. You should all fall in line. And the squeaky wheels will be rolled out of the locker room before next season,'' ESPN's Greg Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the latest RINK RAP podcast. And, listen, like it or not, that's probably good business by Dolan. It's clear the general manager has the full support and backing from the team owner. That Dolan expressed those sentiments is smart. He made this a black and white issue. There's no grey here. That should make it easier for Drury to go about the job of retooling the Rangers roster and getting them back on track to being a playoff team, one that could contend for its first Stanley Cup championship since 1994. So, now that Drury has that contract extension, let's examine what's on his plate moving forward in this critical offseason. Advertisement Related: Sam Bennett among free-agent forwards should watch in 1st round of playoffs Chris Drury's to-do list for Rangers before free agency July 1 Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Let's focus on what's right on front of Drury to deal with in the more immediate future. We will revisit his to-do list later in the offseason before NHL free agency begins July 1. 1. Clear air with Mika Zibanejad After firing Peter Laviolette last week, you'd think the first major thing to do for the Rangers would be to hire a new coach. And, yes, it's massively important, of course. But don't you also think that any prospective coach wants to know where things stand with Mika Zibanejad after the star center sulked through most of this season and expressed — without mentioning Drury by name — how upset he is with the poor communication from management and how it handled the departures of Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba, not to mention floating Chris Kreider's name in trade talks? Advertisement It must be a priority for Drury to sit down with Zibanejad, who will play for Sweden in the upcoming World Championships, and clear the air. One way or the other, the two sides need to come to an understanding. Is Zibanejad all in on remaining with the Rangers? If not, will he waive his no-move clause to allow Drury to shop him this offseason? There can be no half-measures here from the 32-year-old center. His sullen nature and half-hearted on-ice efforts helped submarine the Rangers this season. Whether one believes he was justified or not in feeling, acting and playing the way he did, the bottom line is that Zibanejad is a team leader and one of their most talented two-way players. But the Rangers need him at 100 percent. The flip side is, do the Rangers want him? Did Drury and Co. see something in Zibanejad this season that makes them desperate to get out from under his $8.5 million salary cap hit the next five seasons? Only one way to find out. Drury and Zibanejad must talk this out. Then the Rangers can plan moving forward. And perhaps a conversation is in order with Kreider, as well. 2. Hire the next Rangers coach Drury is likely well into the vetting process to determine who to interview as Peter Laviolette's replacement. The GM promised an extensive search and said he's open to hiring a first-time NHL coach. It should be of interest then to the Rangers that David Carle, the two-time NCAA champion with Denver and back-to-back gold medal winner with the United States at the World Junior Championship, pulled out of the running for the Chicago Blackhawks job. Advertisement Several current NHL assistants, like former Rangers players Marc Savard and Sylvain Lefebvre, could be in the mix, too. Luring Mike Sullivan away from the Pittsburgh Penguins is a pipe dream, though we suspect that's Drury's perfect scenario. Perhaps Rick Tocchet, if he turns down a long-term offer from the Vancouver Canucks, or Jay Woodcroft will be options. No matter who ends up with the gig, this will be Drury's biggest decision this offseason, as he sets out to hire the third coach in his four-year tenure as GM. 3. Decide if Rangers keep their 1st-round pick in 2025 draft The Rangers finished with the 11th-worst record in the NHL this season, meaning that not only are they in the draft lottery, they do have a shot at the No. 1 overall pick — albeit a three percent chance, according to Tankathon — since teams are allowed to move up a maximum of 10 spots, per NHL Draft Lottery rules. The worst-case scenario here is that the Rangers fall back the maximum two spots in the lottery and have the No. 13 overall pick. Advertisement So, if the Rangers remain in that 11-13 area, Drury has a big decision to make. The Rangers already dealt this conditional pick to the Canucks in the J.T. Miller trade, and the Canucks then shipped it to the Penguins to acquire defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The pick's condition is that it's top-13 protected, meaning the Rangers can keep the pick this year and give up their first-round selection in 2026 instead. Or they can let the Penguins use the pick this year and hold on to their own selection next season, when experts project a deeper, more talented draft pool. Unless the Rangers vault up in the draft after the lottery, when they would certainly keep the pick, there's no clear-cut simple answer for Drury. They don't plan on missing the playoffs next season, so that first-rounder might be lower in the draft, albeit a deeper one. Of course, no one expected the Rangers to finish with one of the League's worst records this season. So, yeah, all bets are off. The NHL Draft Lottery is expected to be held in May, though a date is not yet set. The Rangers have up until 48 hours before the start of the draft on June 27 to inform the Penguins of their decision. 4. Make call on K'Andre Miller's future with Rangers Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Drury must make several important personnel decisions, including with Zibanejad and Kreider, as mentioned above. He's got another to call to make on K'Andre Miller, who's a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and due a sizeable raise. Advertisement The thing is, though, that the 25-year-old minute-munching defenseman has had some pretty wild swings with his overall play the past two seasons. Not only is his production way down (from 43 points in 2022-23 to 30 last season to 27 this), but Miller's made a boatload of egregious mistakes in his own end, many of which cost the Rangers wins and points in the standings. Then on the other hand, his advanced stats were not terrible this season, considering he's typically out there against the opposition's top line night after night. And with Ryan Lindgren gone, Miller could very well be the long-term answer as Adam Fox's partner moving forward. The Rangers could get a decent haul in return if they trade Miller in his prime, though they'd then have to replace him on the blue line. Or they could re-sign him, but that could be a real sticky negotiation, considering he can become a UFA in 2027 and is likely seeking a rich long-term commitment from the Rangers. On a smaller scale, Drury must decide the futures of pending RFAs Zac Jones, Jusso Parssinen and Arthur Kaliyev this offseason. Easier calls will be to re-sign RFAs Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom.
