In what ended up being a busy day for Chris Drury, the Rangers GM has dealt 25 year old defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 1st round pick, a 2nd round pick and 22 year old defenseman Scott Morrow.
The move comes following reports that the Rangers had been interested in trading the young RFA blueliner, rather than sign him to a long term contract following a lapse in play over the last two seasons.
Reports of an offer sheet
Earlier in the day, it appeared that the Detroit Red Wings may have had interest in Miller, though things quickly pivoted after reports that the Carolina Hurricanes were looking to sign the Minnesota native to an offer sheet, but instead engaged the Rangers in trade conversations. This would allow the Rangers to sign Miller to an 8 year deal, one more than Carolina could offer, but ultimately resulted in a similar return to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick that would have been given as compensation if they were successful.
With a duration of 8 years and a $7.5M value, the contract comes in at one more year and an average of $500k more than the recently signed Vladislav Gavrikov, though banks on him being able to turn his game around after performing poorly under Peter Laviolette and defensive coach Phil Housley.
A fair return
In exchange, the Rangers will receive the better of the Carolina or Dallas 1st round picks in next year’s draft, with the pick Top 10 protected. Given the success of both teams in recent years, it’s hard to imagine that either pick will be in the top half though. The 2nd round pick will also be in next year’s draft, making up for the 2nd that was previously traded to the Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Mammoth) as part of the contract dump of Patrick Nemeth.
Scott Morrow finished his first pro season last year, spending the majority of it with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL where he earned all-star honors. There he played on the top pairing and in all situations, and could be in line for a promotion to the NHL in the next year or two. He is 22 and is on the last year of his entry level contract, and could give Drury some options over the next couple of seasons if he decides to move Braden Schneider, or move him to the left side