Rangers draft takeaways: Evaluating the K’Andre Miller situation, class of 2025

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Entering draft weekend, the biggest question surrounding the New York Rangers involved what they would do with defenseman K’Andre Miller, a restricted free agent. More than 200 picks later, there’s still no answer. Several NHL defensemen were moved by the end — Noah Dobson, Jordan Spence, Conor Timmins and Connor Clifton — but Miller remained put, as did Buffalo’s Bowen Byram.

Miller’s situation will have ripple effects on the rest of the Rangers’ offseason. Team president and general manager Chris Drury will likely have to choose between moving a 25-year-old top-four defenseman or having limited flexibility for other free-agent signings.

The Rangers will have interest in Los Angeles Kings pending unrestricted free agent Vladislav Gavrikov if he reaches the open market, according to a league source. AFP Analytics projects Gavrikov will get a seven-year contract with a $7.6 million average annual value. A contract that size would take up most of the Rangers’ cap flexibility.

New York has only $12.1 million in space, according to PuckPedia, though it could perhaps add a little more by sending down a forward on an entry-level contract. If the Rangers landed Gavrikov at the projected $7.6 million AAV figure, their space would go down to $4.5 million. That’s not enough to pay both Miller and Will Cuylle, the team’s most prominent RFAs. In fact, it wouldn’t even cover Miller’s $4.646 million qualifying offer.

New York doesn’t have many other ways to clear cap space. Drury could explore moving defenseman Carson Soucy, but that would likely mean selling low on a player the team gave up a high third-round pick to get only a few months ago. Soucy has trade protection the Rangers would have to work around, and the team still values him as a player, according to a league source. Maybe a move happens, but it doesn’t feel likely at this point.

All of that adds up to a looming decision with Miller, even if the draft passed without resolution. The Rangers either have to trade him, find another difficult way to clear cap space or sacrifice the flexibility necessary to pursue a player of Gavrikov’s level.

Here are a few other thoughts from draft weekend.

Spence headlines draft class

The Rangers, who did not have a first-round selection, went with a good-value pick at No. 43, taking Malcolm Spence, a left wing from OHL Erie. Colleague Corey Pronman had him ranked No. 24 in his pre-draft rankings, and Scott Wheeler had him at No. 22. The Rangers pounced when he slipped to the second round. The winger compared his play style to that of Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan O’Reilly in a past interview with The Athletic.

“I’m a fast, physical player that plays with a lot of pace and has high-end skill,” said Spence, who had 73 points in 65 games last season with Erie. “Gonna be a guy who plays in all situations.”

Though wing is not the Rangers’ biggest organizational need, adding a player who could have gone in the first round — regardless of position — made sense at No. 43. He immediately becomes one of New York’s top prospects.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Spence is committed to play college hockey at Michigan. The winger said there might be skill elements of his game that are already NHL-ready, but he knows he still needs to physically improve. That will be one of the areas of his game he’ll focus on with the Wolverines.

One scout described Spence as a strong skater who can shoot, as evidenced by his 32 goals last season. But, the scout added, “you want him to use his skating to be more effective on the forecheck.”

Pronman wrote that Spence has high-end compete and “can create chances with pace, but I wouldn’t call him a dynamic or overly creative player with the puck.” Wheeler wrote “he’s going to be a good 200-foot forward at the next level for a long time.”

“We valued him for a few years now,” said John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of player personnel. “We were happy he was there at 43. I think he was projected to go quite a bit higher, so when the opportunity presented itself, we were thrilled to get him at that spot.”

Spence was teammates with fellow Rangers prospect Carey Terrance the past three seasons. Terrance came to New York in the Chris Kreider trade.

“For me to be in an organization where I have one of my best friends there, it’s a pretty cool feeling,” Spence said.

Spence and Terrance were also teammates in Erie with Matthew Schaefer, who went No. 1 Friday to the New York Islanders. Now they are division rivals.

Spence said he will be at the Rangers’ development camp next week.

East competitors make moves

The Rangers were in the wild-card race with the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets last season, and both of those teams made additions heading into the draft. Montreal acquired Noah Dobson from the Islanders, giving it an exciting core of young defensemen that also includes Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, and Columbus traded for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood in an attempt to bolster its bottom six.

Other Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls followed suit, with Detroit trading for John Gibson and Ottawa getting Jordan Spence from Los Angeles. The Red Wings hope Gibson will bring stability they need in net, and Spence at a minimum will serve as a useful third-pair defenseman.

There won’t be room for all four of those teams — Montreal, Columbus, Detroit and Ottawa — and the Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoffs next year. All eight teams in the Atlantic Division have eyes on making the postseason in 2025-26, and at least five in the Metro do, too. That’s made the market difficult.

“Most years, you have a few teams who are deep into rebuilds or starting rebuilds and are willing to move some of their veterans for picks,” Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky told reporters Friday. “This year, almost every team is saying that if they move a player, they want players back. That makes it hard to get deals done.”

Perhaps that’s led to New York and Buffalo not yet moving Miller and Byram, respectively: Other teams might not want to surrender contributing players in return because they, too, are trying to win in the near future.

Examining other picks

Here are some additional notes on several Rangers picks:

• Sean Barnhill, defenseman (No. 70): The 6-foot-4 Barnhill played this past season in the USHL with Dubuque, where he had 12 points in 54 games. Lilley described him as raw.

“We do think there’s more offense coming to his game with physical maturity and just playing more hockey,” Lilley said.

Barnhill is committed to play at Northeastern, but Lilley said he will play another year in the USHL before going there.

• Artyom Gonchar, defenseman (No. 89): Gonchar is the nephew of longtime NHLer Sergei Gonchar, a Stanley Cup champion and two-time All-Star. Like his uncle, Artyom is a defenseman. He’s currently in Russia’s junior hockey league.

• Mikkel Eriksen, center (No. 111): Center is a position of need in the Rangers’ prospect pool, and they took their first shot at addressing it with the Eriksen pick. The Norwegian forward was one of the only 17-year-olds in the draft. “He’s feisty and plays with skill and plays well away from the puck,” Lilley said.

• Zeb Lindgren, defenseman (No. 139): The Rangers said goodbye to one Lindgren when they traded Ryan Lindgren away at the deadline, but now they’re welcoming in another. Pronman categorizes Zeb Lindgren as a solid two-way defenseman at the Swedish junior level but wonders how his skating will translate.

(Photo of K’Andre Miller: James Guillory / Imagn Images)

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