For the NHL world, time is flying by.
The Florida Panthers have claimed the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row and July 1 (the opening of free agency) is rapidly approaching. Mid July will also bring the release of the 2025-26 regular season schedule. In short — the offseason doesn't last as long as some fans of the league may think.
Here's two predictions for what moves the New York Rangers could make with the remaining time available in the offseason.
2. Giving up K'Andre Miller to move up in the draft
The 2025 NHL Draft is less than one week away. The first round will be held on June 27 (7 p.m. ET), with Rounds 2-7 on June 28 (noon ET) at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater.
According to Elliotte Friedman, he believes the New York Rangers could be a team whose looking to move up during the draft.
Elliotte Friedman believes the #NYR can be one team that could look to move up during the draft. pic.twitter.com/avwheKJPiP
— NYRONLY (@nyronly) June 23, 2025
One way fans are suggesting they go about moving up in draft selections — aside from already having the No. 12 pick via the lottery — is to give up defenseman K'Andre Miller.
The projections for for keeping Miller are quite costly, especially for a team in New York’s situation. After all his last contract was a two-year deal worth $7,744,000 with a cap hit of $3,872,000.
And he's not worth keeping.
Miller's 97 giveaways this season nearly tripled his total from 2023-24. On top of that, he finished this season with 27 points compared to the 43 he tallied for the 2022-23 season. This season it became obvious to anyone with eyes that Miller was prone to bad turnovers that more often that not resulted in a goal from the opposing team.
Why not have President and General Manager Chris Drury see what he could for Miller and a few other things thrown in there?
1. Naming J.T. Miller or Vincent Trocheck captain
After coming to the New York Rangers via a trade sending center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a 2025 conditional pick to the Vancouver Canucks, the Blueshirts saw a rapid increase in offensive production and motivation as a result of J.T. Miller joining the roster.
The Rangers' last captain was defenseman Jacob Trouba who is now with the Anaheim Ducks as a result of the December 6th trade in exchange for Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth-round draft pick.
Miller's numbers exclusive to the Rangers for the 2024-25 NHL season are as follows: 32 games played, 13 goals, 22 assists for 35 points with an average of 1.09 points per game, which was up from the 0.88 points per game he registered in Vancouver. Let's also remember he was originally selected by the Rangers with the No. 15 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft after playing two seasons for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Vincent Trocheck is another name whose been thrown in the ring when it comes to naming the next captain. After all, he's been with the Rangers since 2022, has appeal to the fanbase and would allow a Rangers' veteran to wear the "C" after Kreider was traded to Anaheim.
Overall — It's simply be nice for the Blueshirts to enter their season with a new head coach with an established leader in the locker room.