During locker room cleanout day, Mike Sullivan gave a glimpse of the Rangers' plans for the offseason. He said that he would like the team to add a puck-moving defenseman. While Adam Fox is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in hockey, no one else can do it at an effective level. The Rangers' other defensemen either excel in other areas or have failed to develop that elite offensive ability.
The problem is that the Rangers have let several of these defenseman go over the past few years. These playoffs have demonstrated that the Rangers had exactly what the Rangers were looking for, but Chris Drury and the rest of the front office have let them go. Guys like K'Andre Miller and Nils Lundqvist have helped their teams score during the playoffs. This is a bad look for the team and is just the latest questionable decision in a long history of questionable decisions.
In the last 24 Hours
— NYR Louie ™️ (@NYRLouie) April 21, 2026
- K’Andre Miller assisted on a game winning playoff goal, played 35 min(led his team) and had a 60 xGoal% at 26 years old
- Nils Lundkvist had 2 assists, was a +2 in a playoff win at 25 years old
- Zac Jones won AHL Defenseman of the year after leading…
This is just the latest questionable decision by this management group
This is an example of poor roster construction on the Rangers' side. While Lundqvist and Zac Jones are more of surprises, everyone could have seen this coming from Miller. Despite his struggles, Miller was always seen as a two-way defenseman who was decent at setting up his teammates to score. With Sullivan's history with defensemen, he easily could have turned Miller into that player. He could have schemed up a system that played off of Miller's strengths.
While the contract situation would need to have been figured out, keeping Miller might have improved the Rangers. He could have become the puck-moving defenseman Sullivan wanted. We could finally have seen Miller have the breakout we all wanted. It also could have helped the Rangers find more success in 2025-26. With a player more in line with Sullivan's game plan, the Rangers could have been more effective on offense, helping them win more games.
This is not just poor roster construction but another example of the Rangers' inability to develop young players. We all know the extensive history of the Rangers' struggles to develop forwards, but we rarely talk about the defensemen they have failed to develop. Sure, they have had more success, but there are still plenty of young defenseman who did not pan out. Guys like Lundqvist, Jones, and, to an extent, Braden Schneider all failed to live up to their potential.
If the Rangers had developed either Jones or Lundqvist into this type of defender, it could have freed up their attention for other needs. They could have relied on either one of them to fill in the puck-moving defenseman role, and the Rangers could focus on other problems. Like their bottom six, or getting an impact scorer to replace Artemi Panarin. It would have put the Rangers closer to contention than they are now.
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