The Rangers head into tonight’s first round of the NHL Draft without a selection.New York dealt the 12th pick to Pittsburgh earlier in the week, opting to trade this year’s selection rather than next year’s. Nevertheless, the Rangers won’t necessarily be shut out in this round.
K’Andre Miller – going or staying?
K’Andre Miller’s name has been prominently mentioned in nearly every rumor with the team. Miller, a restricted free agent, could potentially be moved tonight if GM Chris Drury can net a first round selection. While the door is not completely closed on Miller being part of the team, it does not take a mensa student to recognize his days are likely numbered even with the door still open a sliver.
K’Andre Miller’s name has been prominently mentioned in nearly every rumor with the team. Miller, a restricted free agent, could potentially be moved tonight if GM Chris Drury can net a first round selection. While the door is not completely closed on Miller being part of the team, it does not take a mensa student to recognize his days are likely numbered even with the door still open a sliver.
A first round pick in 2018, Miller had what looked to be his breakout season in 2022-23, notching nine goals and 34 assists with 162 hits and 105 blocked shots. A converted forward, Miller seemed to be making the transition to defense, but his play regressed mightily the lack two seasons. Part of what Drury needs to factor into the trade or re-sign equation is if Miller’s issues were due to the system deployed by Peter Laviolette and Phil Housley. Even if Drury believes that to be the case, he seems hell bent on creating cap room to go after Vladislav Gavrikov to play next to Adam Fox. The risk is Miller figures it out elsewhere, using his reach, speed, skill and talent to become a true top defenseman.
As Mollie Walker noted, in her column, Miller is eligible to receive an offer sheet when the free agency window opens Tuesday, which could become a factor in the Rangers’ timeline. It would presumably come in at around five years between $6 million and $7.021 million per.If that were the case, the Rangers would receive first- and third-round picks in what is projected to be a much deeper 2026 draft. Drury might be OK with such compensation depending on how he has seen other teams value Miller this offseason.
If you polled most Rangers’ fans, the overwhelming vote would be to vote Miller off Rangers’ Island. But as we have in other cases where Blueshirts’ d-men have gone elsewhere and had success – Anton Stralman, Ryan Graves, etc. – sometimes, be careful what you wish for….
REMAINING DRAFT PICKS
Barring activity to obtain a first round pick, the Rangers have eight picks in the following seven rounds. They should be active Saturday in LA with a 2nd, two 3rds, a 4th, a 5th, two 6ths, and a 7th pick this year. <a href=”https://hockeyhotstove.com/author/jessrubenstein/”>Jess Rubinstein</a> has been doing a fabulous job projecting who New York should target in each of those rounds, take a look before and during the draft.
Round 2: Pick 43
Round 3: Picks 70 and 89
Round 4: Pick 111
Round 5: Pick 139
Round 6: Picks 166 and 171
Round 7: Pick 203
