Breaking down K'Andre Miller: What he does, what he's worth and what the Rangers should do

Just a few years ago, KAndre Miller was one of the most eye-catching defensemen on the New York Rangers back end.

His straight-line skating, long reach and pesky stick made him a two-way threat to watch.

Those raw skills helped him not only make the team but jump into a mainstay role.

As much as Millers shown glimpses of his potential, he hasnt hit his ceiling in New York yet.

He hasnt even found a level of consistency that makes him a dependable cornerstone in the top four.

And that is part of what complicates his future, as his two-year contract is set to expire in a couple of weeks.

Advertisement The Rangers may not be ready to bet on him long-term just yet, but it doesnt mean another team wont.

With Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway becoming success stories in St.

Louis, opposing general managers may finally be ready to weaponize offer sheets.

That puts pressure on an already challenging situation in New York.

With the Rangers looking to shake up their roster after a disappointing 2024-25 and make key changes on defense, it puts Millers game under a microscope.

What does Miller bring to a lineup? What is it worth, and how should the Rangers handle the situation this summer? Millers a naturally gifted player.

His skating can be one of his best strengths between his long stride and acceleration.

He isnt the most prolific scorer, but he can make the first pass out of his own zone.

Miller has the wheels to play with pace and transition the puck up the ice, which helped the Rangers generate more quality offense in his minutes.

The takeaway by .

The finish from Cools.

Just pic.twitter.com/N1Y4L42bOx New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 30, 2023 But even more importantly for someone generally tasked with playing against top offensive competition, he has the tools to shut down opponents.

His skating, paired with his long reach, can be a threat in the defensive zone.

It helps him catch up to opponents, break up plays with his stick and limit rush chances against.

Miller can use his size to take away space from opponents and pressure them to turn the puck over.

At times, even this past season, it helped fuel the Rangers from the back end.

That was especially true in his minutes on the top pair with Adam Fox in the early goings of the season.

The two played almost 315 five-on-five minutes together in total, outscoring opponents 19-12 and earning a 65 percent expected goal rate that ranks highly relative to the rest of the league.

Advertisement But there were also extreme lows for Miller.

The Rangers were completely exposed when Miller moved back to Jacob Troubas left on the second pair.

In 99 five-on-five minutes together, the Rangers were outscored 10-0 with a disastrous 29 percent expected goal rate.

As easy as it was to pin that pairs shortcomings on Trouba who was without a doubt part of the problem Millers game also is flawed.

Playing with Will Borgen somewhat helped stabilize his game, relative to Trouba, but he still wasnt at the level the Rangers needed in such a key role.

Millers entry denial took a hit this season compared to 2023-24.

Opponents were able to transition right past him into the zone and create scoring chances off the rush.

According to tracking at AllThreeZones, his rush chances against numbers were some of the worst not just in New York, but league-wide.

Leo What a SNIPE! #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/OBYvDmBj5G Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) March 29, 2025 Some of those mistakes were due to his decision-making.

He made poor reads in odd-man situations and sometimes left his feet to take himself out of position.

NAMESTNIKOV FROM EHLERS AND THE JETS ARE UP BY 2 pic.twitter.com/I9qHuvXAnE TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 13, 2024 In some instances, he would react and adjust too late to the shooter, leaving his goaltender exposed to a quality chance.

KYLE CONNOR RIPS IT HOME TO PUT THE JETS UP 3-2 pic.twitter.com/rWuhy6lVDF TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 13, 2024 Millers puck management burned the Rangers at times too.

He turned the puck over too often and didnt always recover quickly enough.

As fast as his straight-line skating is, he still has work to do in tight.

K'Andre Miller with a tough turnover and Thomas Harley makes up for his delay of game penalty by tying it pic.twitter.com/hMF7gfnTkc B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 8, 2025 In a lot of ways, Miller lost some of the structure in his game that made him a fit for his deployment in matchup minutes.

And over the last few years, under Phil Housleys direction, it doesnt appear that enough was done to help him rebound besides giving him a new partner in Borgen.

It diminished his value on a blue line that collapsed around him this year.

Between all the ups and downs, the challenge is nailing down the proper value and how that inflates in a rising-cap world.

Sometimes when a team is unsure of how best to proceed with an RFA, a bridge deal is the answer.

It buys a team time to assess the player and create cap room for their next deal, and its a chance for a player to show exactly what theyre worth.

Advertisement In Millers case, it would give the Rangers time to see if he can bounce back after a rough 2024-25 under a new coaching staff.

Theres been a lot of coaching turnover in his five NHL seasons from David Quinn (and Jacques Martin, who ran the defense) and Gerard Gallant (and Gord Murphy) to Peter Laviolette (and Housley) most recently.

Miller is far from the only player to regress over the last couple of years under the latest coaching staff, but will Mike Sullivan (and now Quinn, as a defensive assistant) be able to get his game back on track? A two-year extension, according to Evolving-Hockey, projects to be worth $5.43 million a season, which would come in below his market value (according to The Athletics Dom Luszczyszyns model) and increase the chances of him delivering a positive value throughout.

Maybe that would be more of a possibility if Miller didnt just play through a two-year bridge worth $3.87 million a year.

Signing the 25-year-old to another short-term deal like this would take him right to unrestricted free agency, which could crush the Rangers leverage and create a problem down the road.

Evolving-Hockeys model points to a four-year deal as the highest probability extension, with a $5.94 million AAV.

That, at least, would buy more of his prime years (which Luszczyszyn pointed out is between ages 23 and 29) without a long-term commitment that could age poorly if he doesnt take a step forward.

The potential for an offer sheet could throw a wrench into the situation, though.

If a team signs him between the $4.68 and $7.02 million range, the Rangers could get a first-round pick and a third-rounder in return.

The next tier $7.02 million to $ 9.36 million would add a second-rounder to the compensation.

The highest probability projection for Miller to sign outside of New York is a seven-year deal worth a $7.48 million AAV.

That kind of deal is likely out of the Rangers scope, considering their current cap situation.

It also comes with a lot of risk considering his current trajectory, which could be reason enough for the Rangers not to match.

If he can follow the path of some of his comps, like Esa Lindell and Brent Burns, as a true top-four defenseman capable of playing in a shutdown role in the long run, it would pay off.

But Zach Bogosian, David Savard and Rasmus Ristolainen represent much dicier forecasts, which could give any team pause since Miller hasnt shown enough consistency in his career yet to firm up a path.

The Rangers could wait for an offer sheet to land and figure it out from there.

At worst, the team would get draft compensation in return, which would bolster its trade asset pool.

But management may want to act a bit more proactively to ensure a certain level of return that threads the needle in an important offseason.

As tempting as offer sheets are, especially after the Blues found so much success with theirs last summer, few teams have actually weaponized them in recent history.

So a trade could be the Rangers most certain path forward if management doesnt see a future with Miller.

Even with all of his flaws and inconsistencies, teams will be interested in Miller this summer.

Under the right coaching staff, within a stronger system, there is a way to harness the raw skills he brings to a lineup and turn that into a dependable top-four defender.

It would make him a fit for up-and-coming teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, who both need help on the back end.

The Detroit Red Wings left side could use a boost behind Simon Edvinsson, and Miller would be an upgrade on Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and Erik Gustafsson.

Miller could make sense in Seattle behind Vince Dunn, or to give Hampus Lindholm some support on the left in Boston.

Advertisement Contenders could also look at Miller, depending on free agent departures.

The Los Angeles Kings will need a lefty to replace Vladislav Gavrikov, who looks like a big-ticket free agent.

After a disappointing Eastern Conference final exit, the Carolina Hurricanes may want to find more skill to play within the system .

If Dmitry Orlov walks as a free agent, maybe Carolina can maximize Millers game.

As ideal as the trade route may seem for New York since it allows management to clear cap space and get more favorable assets in return than an offer sheet it doesnt necessarily make this team better, either.

Even if trading Miller feels like a necessity, it leaves the blue line without someone capable of absorbing matchup minutes and contributing game-changing plays on both ends of the ice.

Thats what makes the situation so complicated for the Rangers.

Miller has the chops to be a franchise defenseman, but this is a results-driven league.

The results werent there last year and management can only bet on so many bounce-backs.

The contract situation, road to free agency and threat of an offer sheet only add more hurdles to navigate.

And that could be what spells the end for Miller in New York, despite all the skill he brings to the table.

Data via Dom Luszczyszyn, Evolving-Hockey , CapWages , HockeyViz , HockeyStatCards , All Three Zones and Natural Stat Trick .

This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers.

(Top photo: Danny Wild / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.