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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
Needing a short-term solution, the New York Rangers found one Tuesday when they agreed to a two-year extension for defenseman K’Andre Miller.
The Rangers announced they signed the 23-year-old Miller to a two-year contract carrying a $3.872 million AAV in each season. Finding a new deal for Miller was one of the offseason priorities for the Rangers as the top-four defenseman was a restricted free agent who was in need of a new deal.
A first-round pick in 2018, Miller came to the Rangers with the expectations that he could be part of the group of promising prospects who could help them return to playoff contention with the eventual goal of winning a Stanley Cup.
What the former University of Wisconsin star did in the 2022-23 season was amplify those expectations by having the strongest campaign of his career. He finished with nine goals and 43 points while averaging 21:57 in ice time over 79 games. Entering last season, Miller had a combined career 32 points in his first 135 games.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Miller led the Rangers in 5-on-5 ice time while logging the third-most ice-time by a defenseman on a penalty kill that finished 13th with an 81.2 percent success rate.
Everything Miller, who was in the final season of his rookie contract, accomplished created questions about what his next deal would look like for a Stanley Cup contender needing to manage its cap space. By signing Miller to a two-year bridge deal, it gives both him and the Rangers a bit of an extension should the time come for a more long-term deal ahead of when Miller becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Re-signing Miller is the latest move for the Rangers in an active offseason that saw them sign veterans Nick Bonino, Jonathan Quick and Blake Wheeler along with Erik Gustafsson when free agency opened July 1.
Getting a new deal done for Miller now leaves winger Alexis Lafreniere as the only RFA on the Rangers’ roster in need of a new contract. CapFriendly projects the Rangers have $2.3 million in available cap space to re-sign Lafreniere, who was the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.