As trade rumors start creeping into the offseason, we’ve seen calls to trade K’Andre Miller a few times. Some think the Rangers will be far better off trading him for peanuts, while most level headed fans realize that while he is far from untouchable, only a solid offer should pry the 25 year old defenseman away, though there’s a strong case to keep him. The big question is, if they trade K’Andre Miller, how will the Rangers fill what would become two gaping holes on left defense?
The Rangers already have a pretty big hole to fill at 1LD, and if they trade K’Andre Miller they will have to fill both top spots on left defense in the offseason. With so many calling for trading Carson Soucy and a pending Zac Jones trade, would Chris Drury actually trade all three left defensemen, leaving just Urho Vaakanainen from last year’s team? Seems highly unlikely.
If the Rangers trade K’Andre Miller, then they likely keep Carson Soucy
I find it hard to believe the Rangers will trade K’Andre Miller and Carson Soucy. Neither played their way into a “must keep” position, and both had major issues with their respective games. Soucy looked like he was skating in mud, though his metrics with Adam Fox were surprisingly solid due to player strengths matching up. But that was a small sample, and are we really willing to go into the 2025-2026 season with Carson Soucy as the 1LD? He’s been declining for a few years now, and there’s no sign even Mike Sullivan can save him.
There’s a chance Soucy can survive as the 3LD, presumably with Braden Schneider, but that’s no guarantee. With the Rangers needing to get faster, Soucy would be the ideal candidate to be traded. However with all the talk that the Rangers need to trade K’Andre Miller, then Soucy would stay.
If it’s a choice between Miller and Soucy, the decision is easy. Even if Miller’s contract is projected around $6 million for 4 years. Even the Rangers will have a hard time passing on the raw skill Miller shows. He seems like the next defenseman that thrives after a trade from the Rangers.
Miller’s issues are overblown
There’s also the issue with overstating Miller’s issues on the ice. He wasn’t perfect by any means, but he wasn’t this turnover machine that flubbed the puck routinely. Per MoneyPuck, Miller wasn’t even in the top-50 in turnovers at 5v5 last season. At 97 turnovers, which is lofty, he came in at 51st in the NHL and 42nd among defensemen. It led the Rangers, which isn’t good, but it is certainly overstated. Cale Makar, for example, is 12th among defensemen.
The issue with the turnovers, and why the calls to trade K’Andre Miller got loud, was the timing of the turnovers. Perhaps this is conjecture, as we are prone to recency bias, but it felt like every turnover from Miller led to a goal against. Obviously that’s not true, but it felt like his turnovers were at inopportune times and always wound up in the Rangers net. Unfortunately, that feeling and bias doesn’t help the calls to trade K’Andre Miller.
There are three things to consider when coming to that conclusion:
- He was relatively unlucky, as his GAR was far behind his xGAR, suggesting some poor goaltending from Igor Shesterkin while he was on the ice.
- His defensive impacts, which many state to be mostly negative, are exaggerated. He is close enough to net-neutral on defense, and his offensive impacts outweigh the defensive impacts.
- He’s very adept at puck retrievals on dump-ins, though last year he struggled with zone entries. Since every Ranger not named Adam Fox struggled, that is probably systems based. Or maybe because he was saddled with Jacob Trouba and Will Borgen.
Remember, this is for context, not excuses. Miller is far from a perfect defenseman, but are the Rangers really going to find someone with his tools, his age, and net-positive (yes, he’s objectively a net positive) impacts on the ice without sacrificing half the farm? It’s unlikely.
If the decision comes and the Rangers trade K’Andre Miller for something other than a comparable player, they will likely regret it. Not just because it runs the risk of Miller figuring it out, perhaps with a more structured system and better development in general, but because it means they are going to run it back with Soucy.
All signs are pointing to a decision between Miller and Soucy. The answer is clear.
