Many of the New York Rangers’ top players did not play to their potential this season, including defenseman K’Andre Miller. He has the speed, size, and offensive ability to be a star, and at times, he has looked like a star, but poor decisions with the puck and inconsistent play plagued him this season. The Blueshirts need him to play better next season.
K’Andre Miller’s 2024-25 Season
Miller began this season playing on the Rangers’ second defense pair alongside Jacob Trouba, who has spent the majority of the time as his partner since his rookie season in 2020-21. Though they had a lot of success playing together, the pair did not play as well in 2023-24, and their struggles together continued at the start of this season, as they made far too many defensive mistakes.
Through 24 games, Miller had just one goal, three assists, and was minus-8. He was less confident with the puck and did not look to join the rush like in previous seasons. More alarmingly, he repeatedly made defensive mistakes, including poor giveaways, and allowed opponents to get around him because he stick-checked rather than taking the body. A few times he skated out of the way of opponents to try stick-checking and missed.
Miller briefly played on a pair with Adam Fox, and though he played better, he still made some defensive mistakes. On Dec. 6, the Rangers traded Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. On Dec. 18, they traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen, who became Miller’s new defense partner.
Once Miller started playing with Borgen, his play improved. He continued making some frustrating defensive mistakes because of poor decisions, but he also used his speed and reach to make strong plays defensively. Additionally, he played with more confidence in the offensive zone later in the season. He had four goals, 10 assists, and was minus-6 in his first 53 games, but heated up and had three goals, 10 assists, and was plus-5 in his final 21 games.
Miller Has the Tools to Succeed
General manager Chris Drury made a lot of trades this season, many of them involving defensemen as he traded away Trouba and Ryan Lindgren and acquired Vaakanainen, Borgen, Carson Soucy, and Calvin de Haan. Miller is the most talented left-handed defenseman on the roster, and they need him to bounce back next season.
A few seasons ago, Miller was on the brink of stardom as he was excellent during the 2021-22 postseason and helped the Rangers make a run to the Eastern Conference Final. He had two goals and five assists in 20 games while playing well defensively. In overtime of Game 7 in the Blueshirts’ first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he stole the puck and used his speed to create a breakaway and draw a penalty. Artemi Panarin scored the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play.
Miller built on that success and broke out offensively with nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games in 2022-23. He was confident and aggressive in the offensive zone and produced steadily despite rarely getting ice time on the power play. In 2023-24, he had a slow start, but still finished with eight goals and 22 assists in 80 games.
Though Miller has a habit of stick-checking rather than using his strength to defend, it happened much more often this season than in the past few seasons. He also had more sloppy giveaways late in games this season. The Rangers do not need him to be perfect, but they need him to be more consistent and reliable defensively.
Additionally, other than Fox, the Rangers do not have a lot of defensemen that can produce offensively. They need Miller to play the way he did late this season and look to join the rush and shoot the puck from the point.
The Rangers Need Miller to Step Up
The Rangers have a lot of blueliners, but not many that played like top-four defensemen last season. Miller’s strength, speed, and skill make him one of the team’s top players when he is at his best, and they will need him to step up to get back to the postseason next season.
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