One big question mark going into the offseason for the New York Rangers is the contract situation of K’Andre Miller.
On July 1, Miller is set to become a restricted free agent as he remains without a contract extension as of right now.
While Miller’s potential is there, his future with the Rangers has become uncertain after what many consider to be a down year including from himself.
“There were a lot of ups and downs throughout the year and I was obviously a big part of that,” Miller said. “Didn’t love how I started my season this year. I was listening to a lot of the noise. Just not really playing the game I wanted to play. I thought it was a hard season for me to kind of get a grip of how I wanted to play.”
It was on the defensive end where Miller really seemed to struggle at times this season and he didn’t take a big jump as many around the Rangers organization expected.
In 74 games, the 24-year-old defenseman recorded seven goals, 20 assists, and 27 points while averaging 21:57 minutes.
Once the Rangers traded for Will Borgen in December, Miller found a consistent defensive partner, which helped elevate his game from early on in the season.
“Loved it,” Borgen said of his partnership with Miller. “K (K’Andre) is a great player and he makes it really easy for me to play out there too. He communicates well, skates well, he could exit the zone by himself. He’s unbelievable. Once we got our chemistry and got used to each other, it made everything easier.”
Now we’ll have to see if Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury still views Miller as a cornerstone of the team’s core.
He’s certainly shown a ton of promise and upside, but his weaknesses have also become glaringly apparent.
When addressing his future, Miller didn’t divulge much information and seemed to be sentimental when opening up about his time in New York,
“Kind of hard to talk about my future here,” Miller said. “I have a great agent who is going to help me throughout this summer’s process. I love being a New York Ranger. I think this has been some of the best years of my life. These past five years have been unforgettable in about every aspect you can think of. That’s all I really have to comment on.”
There’s a growing sentiment that after missing the playoffs, the Rangers are bound to make some roster changes this summer and it’s unclear if that includes moving on from Miller.
Regardless of what transpires, Miller has made it abundantly clear that his intention is to remain in The Big Apple.
“It’s a part of the job,” Miller said about becoming a restricted free agent. “It’s my first time going through it, so it’s a little different, but like I said, I love New York and I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else right now.”
