An important offseason for K'Andre Miller and the New York Rangers kicked off with the 25-year-old defenseman having surgery for an undisclosed upper-body injury. Per reports , Miller is expected to be back at the start of next season.
Whether that will be with the Rangers or another team remains in question. Miller is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, likely looking for a decent raise and a longer-term contract from the Rangers.
On one hand, it seems to be a no-brainer to lock up Miller, who's been a minute-muncher on the top shutdown pair for each of his five NHL seasons. However, egregious defensive miscues and falling offensive production the past two seasons raises red flags about the Rangers committing long term to him.
The Rangers are also tight against the salary cap. Re-signing Miller at a significant raise, and also inking RFA forward Will Cuylle to a new deal, would chew into most of the cap space, unless the Rangers are able to shed more salary this offseason.
Miller, who made $3.872 million annually on his most recent contract, remains two years away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Typically, this is the time when a team makes a longer-term commitment to a younger player they wish to keep away from becoming a UFA.
He would likely fetch quite a bit if the Rangers look to trade him this summer. Then again, new coach Mike Sullivan very well could want to get his hands on Miller and coach him up instead of losing a core player. Further complications arise if Miller is traded, notably his 22+ minutes a night would need to be adequately replaced.
"Defensemen like him who eat up 20 minutes a night don't grow on trees, so you have to realistically evaluate if you do want to trade him because you've got to bring somebody back to fill in," New York Post beat reporter Mollie Walker told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast.
The surgery could cause some interested teams to pause before pursuing Miller. However, the timeline for his return signifies this was a serious injury, but not one that should impact him moving forward.
Reportedly, the injury was bothering Miller at the end of the season and he decided on surgery after trying to rehab it. Miller missed consecutive games April 7-9 and six games Dec. 14-23.
Miller had 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in 74 games this season, averaging 21:57 TOI. He had 30 points last season and 43 in 2022-23.
"I love being a New York Ranger," Miller said on break-up da y. "I think these have been some of the best years of my life, the past five years have been unforgettable. … I wouldn't want to play anywhere else right now."
Related: Trade him or sign him? Rangers have massive K'Andre Miller decision to make
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Miller is the second young Rangers defensemen that required surgery after this past dismal season, when the Rangers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Braden Schneider showed up at break-up day with his arm in a sling following shoulder surgery.
"It's something they said I could play with, I could go the rest of my playing career playing with it, but it puts me at risk for other things down the road in my life and it'd be tougher to deal with then," Schneider explained . "So, it's something I think had to be done and will help me down the road."
Schneider skipped the final two games of the season after the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention to have the shoulder surgery. The 23-year-old is expected to be back for training camp.
The one other question mark on the current defense corps is the status of Zac Jones . Though the 24-year-old is healthy, he's an RFA with arbitration rights, and was vocal this season about lack of playing time and opportunity. The Rangers may decide to trade his rights.
