The New York Rangers missed the playoffs in the 2024-2025 season, the first time in four years they were out of the postseason action. Their 85 points got them fifth place in the Metropolitan Division — and got coach Peter Laviolette fired after just two seasons.
The Rangers quickly brought in Mike Sullivan, a two-time Stanley Cup winner in his 10 seasons behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, it appears that New York is in for further big changes — this time at the blue line.
First, it now appears that $7.7 million, five-year veteran defenseman K’Andre Miller is on the way out. With his contract now expired, Miller now becomes a restricted free agent and trading the 25-year-old, insiders believe, has been on the Rangers’ agenda for weeks.
Miller Still a Ranger Despite Trade Rumors
According to New York hockey writer Peter Baugh of The Athletic, Miller was expected to be shipped out shortly before or during the NHL Draft which took place Friday and Saturday, but with all seven rounds now in the books, Miller remains a Ranger, at least for the time being.
If Miller is not traded by Tuesday, however, he becomes eligible to receive an offer sheet from another club.
The Rangers may not be adverse to that outcome because, as Larry Brooks of the New York Post explained, Miller “would likely receive an offer sheet for at least five years between $6 million per and $7.021M per that the Blueshirts all but certainly would not match. In that case, the Rangers would receive first- and third-round picks in what is projected to be a loaded 2026 draft.”
With Miller on the way out, another defenseman may be on the way to Madison Square Garden. According to NHL insider Johnny Lazarus of the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast, the Rangers are “highly interested” in 24-year-old Buffalo Sabres right-side defender Bowen Byram, also a restricted free agent who was not traded during the draft.
Byram Gets an ‘A’ Grade for Defense
Byram, the fourth overall 2019 draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, is coming off a two-year, $3.85 million contract with the Sabres. If the Rangers were able to pick him up, whether in trade or with an offer sheet, he would not be a replacement for Miller, who plays the left side on the blue line — unless of course Sullivan wanted to give Byram a try on his off-side.
“If GM Chris Drury could find a way to acquire (Byram), he could very well find a top-four defenseman who could be an immediate impact player in the lineup,” wrote Joshua Deeds of NYRangersInsider.com.
A player “report card” by Jacob D. Strozyk of The Hockey Writers site, gave Bryam a straight-up grade of “A” for his defense in the season that just wrapped up.
Byram spent much of his ice time in Buffalo paired with Owen Power, and according to Strozyk, “Byram showed time and time again that he was the superior defender between the two of them throughout the course of the season, but still he was left as a third option.”
With Buffalo failing to play so much as a single playoff game since 2011, reports out of the Sabres camp indicate that Byram badly wants to move on. Reportedly, he and his family packed up his house and moved him out of Buffalo as soon as the season ended.
Insider Links Rangers to Deal For $3.85 Million ‘Grade A’ Defender