The fit between top UFA defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and the New York Rangers was too obvious for either party to pass up. Gavrikov would get to team up with superstar countrymen Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin, play opposite a Norris Trophy winner in dire need of a new partner in Adam Fox and experience a truly hockey-mad market for the first time. The Rangers would get the honor of nabbing the best blueliner on the market and at last replace Ryan Lindgren on Fox’s left.
Gavrikov put pen to paper shortly after free agency opened on Monday, and, though his $7-million AAV looks like excellent value, the Rangers suddenly had a decision to make: risk getting caught with their pants down by an offer sheet, or make a quick decisions on the future of their notable RFAs, blueliner K’Andre Miller and power forward Will Cuylle.
They chose the second door, and 24 hours later, both players have new contracts, but Miller’s happens to be with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes scooped up the big lefty from their division rival for a couple of early-round picks and former UMass standout Scott Morrow.
Did the Rangers quit on Miller before they had to? Can the Hurricanes unlock his potential the way New York never did? And is either team getting good value in the swap? With the calendar turned over to July, these questions can only be answered in the first Daily Faceoff trade grades of the 2025-26 NHL calendar.
Receive:
D K’Andre Miller, $7.5 million cap hit through 2033 (extended as stipulation of trade)
Divorced from constant scrutiny by the New York media, Miller is a valuable player. He is 25, moves exceptionally well, and has neither missed more than eight games nor averaged fewer than 20:36 of ice time in his career. Rangy, young, and durable, Miller is a good bet to still be in his prime by the end of his new contract, when he’ll be 33.
Miller also does many of the things the Canes value in a D-man. His skating will serve him well when Carolina’s pressure creates puck retrieval opportunities. His good, active stick will be useful at breaking up neutral zone rushes for a team that loves gapping up and killing plays. The same coaching staff that just drilled stupid turnovers out of Brent Burns (until last season, anyway) will make Miller, a talented if erratic puckhandler, a clean exit machine.
So, home run for Carolina, right? Not quite. We haven’t gotten to Miller’s deficiencies. He’s a huge guy who’s shown some snarl in the past, but he rarely erases his man from the play with a big hit. When his team is pinned back on its heels, he panics and pulls himself out of position. In other words, he’s a minutes munching defenseman who’s at his best when he isn’t actually defending, same as Burns or Brady Skjei.
Rod Brind’Amour’s system will shield Miller’s worst shortcomings but won’t fix them, just like the introduction of Miller won’t fix the Hurricanes’ inability to clear the crease when they run up against a team that can survive their almighty forecheck.
Even if Miller never puts it all together, he’ll still provide value for money under the rising cap. The trade package, including Morrow, was worth avoiding the offer-sheet route, which would have also cost first and second-round picks. Still, Brind’Amour will more likely accept Miller for what he is, an above-average but altogether soft puck mover, than push him to realize the superstar potential that was so apparent in 2022-23 (43 P, 21:57 ATOI, 61 takeaways). That would be a waste.
Grade: B
Receive:
D Scott Morrow, $916,667 cap hit through 2027
2026 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
2026 second-round pick
If Gavrikov were directly replacing Miller for the Rangers, this trade would make some sense. Gavrikov is, for now, the considerably superior player. He has none of Miller’s temperamental inconsistency and was the top blueliner for the Los Angeles Kings’ second-ranked defense. He’s not replacing Miller, though, and the trade doesn’t make sense.
Gavrikov will partner Fox, a role in which Miller got bizarrely few tries. Gavrikov’s unseating Carson Soucy and, in a roundabout way, Lindgren. Miller, meanwhile, anchored the second pair last season opposite deposed captain Jacob Trouba, a still untested Braden Schneider, and decidedly OK defender Will Borgen. Not exactly a murderers’ row.
Miller’s results as the leader of a top-four group were a mixed bag, but at least he had experience in the role and some chemistry with every righty on the team. Who will take his place as the second unit’s linchpin? Borgen, a competent but overpaid No. 5? Soucy, an overpaid No. 5 whose competence is a topic of debate? Schneider, who was constantly sheltered from legitimate defensive assignments by former coach Peter Laviolette? There is no contingency plan, but Drury pulled the plug on Miller anyway because the Rangers can no longer afford his services.
It’s unclear how Morrow, another right-handed D on perhaps the only team in the league with a surplus at the position, will factor into the lineup. He showed genuine offensive chops at the collegiate and AHL levels but is a poor skater who may force Schneider to his off left side. They are two young pieces on an otherwise sinking ship.
Major extensions kicked in for Alexis Lafreniere and Shesterkin yesterday. Panarin is out of contract next summer. Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck are aging out of their primes before our eyes. Drury knew all this and still tried desperately to prop New York’s championship window open by trading for J.T. Miller and hiring Mike Sullivan. Now, he has a win-now roster that will likely open the season with former Seattle teammates Soucy and Borgen on the second pair. That’s not a plan, it’s a prayer. The picks are nice, at least.
Grade: D+
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