Why The Rangers Should Pay Lafreniere and Miller Now

The young core of the Rangers is what will truly help them win a Stanley Cup. Players like Kakko, Chytil, Schneider, and Kravtsov are players you can build around. However, there are two players who can become franchise players and they both need new deals after this season. Those two players are Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.

Following the 2022-2023 season, both players will be coming off their Entry-Level Contracts and will undoubtedly get the raises that they deserve. The question now is should the Rangers wait until after the season to pay them or should they try and pay them as early as possible?

With the Rangers having much of their cap space locked up long-term in players like Zibanejad and Trocheck, there is not much money to go around. If the Rangers wait until after the season and both Lafreniere and Miller have career seasons, the money they will ask for will skyrocket. Maybe even more than the Rangers can truly afford.

This is why they should play both players now. Lafreniere has not yet broken out at the NHL level and would cost less now. If he plays up to his potential, he could look at the deal Tim Stutzle signed in Ottawa as a comparable. He signed for $8.350 million for eight years. Both he and Lafreniere have similar career numbers and the Rangers would not be able to afford that deal.

For Miller, while he is not known for putting up large point totals, his offensive game is still improving and his defensive game gets better each game. The Rangers can not afford to lose him and signing him now would help them down the line when the salary cap takes a massive jump.

While both players are focused on having great seasons, the Rangers and Chris Drury should be focused on singing both of them. Whether they sign bridge deals or long-term contracts, both players are foundational pieces for the Rangers and they should be signed immediately.