K'Andre Miller is eager for his new start after trade from the New York Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes acquired the 25-year-old former first-round pick to bolster their blue line and gave him a long-term contract Tuesday–the first official day of free agency. He joins a team that has made seven straight playoff trips and is coming off a third trip to the Eastern Conference final in that span. Carolina has a headlining defenseman in Jaccob Slavin but is retooling that group with veterans Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov unlikely to return. The tweaks–trading away defenseman Scott Morrow–a rising prospect pressed into playoff duty due to injuries–and draft picks to New York to land Miller.
'They have such a fast team,' Miller said Wednesday in a Zoom call with reporters. 'They get up and down the ice in a fast motion and they do everything as a team. It's a fun group to watch and they've had a lot of success recently. So I'm excited to join that style of game and they have a great team over there.'
The Hurricanes project the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Miller as a strong fit with his size and skating ability. They're counting on him to bolster a system that relies on an aggressive forecheck to pressure opponents, get control of the puck, and keep it to maintain pressure in the offensive zone.
The Hurricanes are betting Miller is still on the rise, handing him an eight-year contract paying an average annual value of 7.5 million through the 2032–33 season. There were certainly flashes of it with the Rangers as a regular Metropolitan Division foe for the Hurricanes. The No. 22 overall pick in 2018 by the Rangers has played at least 74 regular-season games for four straight seasons, including posting 17 goals and 56 assists for 73 points over the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons.
But his play fell off last season as he went from looking like a Rangers building block to expendable, coming amid New York's overall crash from Presidents' Trophy winner in 2024 to six points out of a wild-card playoff spot this year. Afterward, Miller tried to tune out all the speculation and 'kind of noise and uncertainty' with New York. That meant focusing instead on getting stronger and getting mentally prepared for what's next. And now that's a new start.
'I think there was a lot of noise throughout the season,' Miller said. 'So I think it was definitely in the back of my head that something could happen, might happen. I loved my time in New York and it was great, but I'm excited for what's to come in Carolina.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Dodgers' Max Muncy Injured While Tagging Out Michael A. Taylor of White Sox
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor in the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. Taylor was caught stealing as catcher Will Smith threw to Muncy, who tagged Taylor for the second out of the inning. Muncy sprawled on his back as a Dodgers athletic trainer came out to check on him. He had to be helped off the field, barely able to put any weight on his left leg. The team said he had left knee pain and he will have an MRI on Thursday, manager Dave Roberts said. 'We feel optimistic,' Roberts said. 'Our hope is that it's a sprain. Obviously, for the next few days, I'm sure he'll probably be down.' A White Sox trainer checked on Taylor, who sustained a bruised left trapezius in his back and left the game. The incident occurred just before Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout against Vinny Capra to end the inning. 'We're all thinking about Munce right now,' Kershaw said. 'He's a huge part of our team. Made a great play there. I don't really know why he stole third like it just seemed unnecessary. I feel bad that it happened. We're all holding our breath that Muncy will be OK.'
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Brewers Phenom Jacob Misiorowski Gets Tagged for 1st Time in Loss to Mets
Jacob Misiorowski made everything look so easy in his first three major league starts. Now he knows it's not. The hard-throwing rookie finally got knocked around Wednesday, serving up back-to-back homers as the Milwaukee Brewers lost 7–3 to the New York Mets in the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Citi Field. Barely touched by opposing batters since getting called up from the minors last month, Misiorowski (3-1) gave up five runs, five hits, and three walks over 3 2/3 innings in his fourth career outing. Brandon Nimmo connected for a grand slam in the second, and a slumping Francisco Lindor followed with another long ball off Misiorowski to give the Mets a 5–0 lead. 'He wasn't in sync tonight, for sure. You could see it early. He'd have it for one pitch and then you could just see the ball wasn't coming out of his fingers the same. You could see the frustration building,' Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. 'That's too good of a team and too good of a lineup. (These are) the days you realize how good these guys are – all major league players. It's so tough to perform at the highest level and be consistent. But when you're off a little bit, it can be the difference, and Miz just wasn't in sync.' A touted prospect, the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski had more than lived up to the hype since his arrival. He began his career with 11 hitless innings and then a scoreless start in a win over Pirates ace Paul Skenes before a crowd of 42,774 in Milwaukee last week. The 23-year-old right-hander carried a perfect game into the seventh June 20 at Minnesota and racked up 19 strikeouts in his first 16 big league innings. 'He has amazing stuff,' Nimmo said. Misiorowski threw 62 pitches at least one hundred mph in his first three games, and opposing batters were 3 for 49 (six percent) against him – making him the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to have as many wins as hits allowed through three career starts. 'He's really good. Crazy future ahead of him,' Lindor said. 'It's going to be fun to watch him and fun to play against him.' But on this night, Misiorowski walked consecutive batters with two outs in the second and was unable to corral a high comebacker off the bat of No. 9 hitter Hayden Senger. The ball glanced off Misiorowski's glove and spun away from second baseman Brice Turang for an infield single that loaded the bases. 'There was a fastball at the bottom of the zone for a walk that I thought was there. But I thought, 'good spot,' and maybe get it up a little bit more,' Misiorowski said. 'Just frustrated at myself for not making a play.' Nimmo pulled the next pitch – a 96 mph slider – to right field for his third career slam and second this season. Lindor then drove a 1–2 fastball to right-center for his 17th home run. 'I threw good pitches and they hit 'em. Plain and simple as that,' Misiorowski said. 'I mean, you're facing the best of the best. They're getting paid what they're getting paid for a reason.' Misiorowski said his problem was mechanical. 'My fingers were just a little too far on the right side of the ball, and it kind of spun a little different than I'm used to,' he said. 'I think I came back pretty well after that. … I fixed it that next inning.' Murphy said Misiorowski didn't feel good while warming up in the bullpen, and that carried over to the game. 'His whole body was not in sync,' the manager explained. 'All the arms and legs, it's hard to sync it all up.' Misiorowski came out firing one hundred mph fastballs – touching 102 mph against Lindor in the first inning – but it didn't last. 'He learned his lesson. He's ticked about it. Even some of the sequencing, he's ticked about,' Murphy said. 'He can see it, that there's just a really fine line between being dominant and being just OK.' Misiorowski, however, won't dwell on this disappointment. 'It's done. Use the old Tiger Woods approach and move on to the next hit. Move on to the next pitch. It is what it is. I got a loss, but oh well,' he said. 'It's frustrating. But at the same time, like, young career, it's good figuring it out now. Not when we're in the playoffs and it matters most.'
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Dodgers Rally Past White Sox In 9th Inning; Kershaw Reaches 3,000 Strikeouts
Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout, and Freddie Freeman capped a three-run ninth inning by singling in Shohei Ohtani, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Chicago White Sox 5–4 on Wednesday night. Kershaw became the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000 when Vinny Capra took a slider for a called third strike for the final out of the sixth inning. Los Angeles trailed 4–2 and hadn't scored since the second inning when Michael Conforto singled and Tommy Edman and Hyesong Kim drew back-to-back walks from Grant Taylor (0–1) to open the ninth. Ohtani hit into a run-scoring forceout, Mookie Betts tied the score with a sacrifice fly off Steven Wilson, and Freeman singled sharply to right. Los Angeles won for the 14th time in 17 games and clinched its seventh straight series victory. Andrew Benintendi had a two-out RBI single in the first. Will Smith tied the score in the bottom half against Sean Burke with his 11th homer, and Andy Pages led off the second with his 17th homer. Austin Slater hit a two-run homer in the third for a 3–2 lead, and Edgar Quero added a flare RBI single. Key moment: Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor in the sixth. Taylor was caught stealing as catcher Will Smith threw to Muncy, who tagged Taylor for the second out of the inning. Muncy sprawled on his back as a Dodgers athletic trainer came out to check on him. The team said he had left knee pain. A White Sox trainer also checked on Taylor, who sustained a bruised left trapezius in his back. Key stat: Kershaw threw a season-high 100 pitches, giving up four runs and nine hits in six innings. He struck out Miguel Vargas in the third and Lenyn Sosa in the fifth. Up next: White Sox RHP Aaron Civale (1–4, 4.74 ERA) starts the series finale Thursday. Dodgers RHP Dustin May (4–5, 4.68) faces Chicago for the first time in his career.
