Haha hed be the 2nd best forward on the Rangers, maybe even the best when Panarin takes another night off. Theyd easy breasy make room for a player of Millers calibre in 2023, bub
1- You are not Wolverine. You are a random schlub on the internet. Relax with the "bub"s.
2- Miller is 100% behind Panarin and Zibanejad. It isn't close. Frankly, when you factor in the greater importance of goals, it'd be a toss up as to whether he'd be ahead of Kreider.
3- That said, teams don't make lines based on pure talent rankings. Kreider/Zibanejad and Panarin/Strome have been together and worked great together for years. The Rangers' powerplay is among the best in the league, and the second unit barely plays. They aren't going to break up one of the two major reasons for their success just to accommodate Miller, so he likely won't get nearly as much PP time in NY as he does in Vancouver. And because of the chemistry pairings mentioned earlier, that would mean that Miller would either center line 3 or play RW on line 1. Either way, you don't pay 1C currency to go out and get someone to play as a winger or on the 3rd line.
4- How do you propose they "make room" for Miller's next contract? Trading Kreider and Trouba? Oh, wait, they both have NMCs in 2023. Trade Zib or Fox or Panarin? That'd be dumb as all three are better hockey players. The Rangers' money is tied up in players that can't be moved and/or players who are better. They don't have enough "middle level" contracts to absorb another big cap hit. And that's even before considering whether it would be a good idea to give a long, rich contract to a known locker room malcontent--whose annual production rate frankly has more ups and downs than a roller coaster--as he enters his 30s.
5- That production. Which Miller would the team even be getting? The one from Vancouver the last couple of seasons? The one who played great in the playoffs in 2019-20? Or the one who played himself out of the top six in Tampa Bay? Or the one who was such a problem in the locker room that he was a throw in in the McDonagh trade? Or the one who was a straight up ghost in the playoffs the other six years he played in them?
Miller clearly is a different player in Vancouver than he was in TB or NY. My concern is that whatever he found in Vancouver to make him that player might not travel with him to his next destination. His track record is too volatile for my taste, particularly with the prices being thrown around. Vancouver should either keep Miller, or find a team that actually
needs a number one center. The Rangers have no need to pay 1c prices to fill their need at RW or 3C. It's just a dumb waste of resources.
