Article: Bring K'Andre Miller Home (In 2025)

[Justin Hein]

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[mnfaninnc]

I agree with Justin's sentiment here. There is a chance that Miller will want to come "home." The Rangers are a couple of years ahead of the Wild in rebuild mode, which means that they will have to be paying their young players a couple of years before MN has to. 

The cap will go up for the Rangers, but in '25, nobody will have a better cap increase than the Wild. Could a Miller-Draisaitl pair be what comes our way?

I do think that Miller, at 215 will probably be around 230 by that time. I'd hope to keep Middleton, but what would we do with Middleton, Miller, and Brodin? Isn't Lambos supposed to be in this mix? Yes, the Wild could have an embarrassment of riches back there, and not have to pay for it for a little while. 

You know who else notices what the Wild cap space will look like? Agents. Don't think for one moment that they won't be threatening their player's teams with, "well let's see what the Wild will pay." Guerin is already known for a reputation of being fair with players contractually. 

And, I think this is a place where Kaprizov will want to be!

[Justin Hein]

52 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I do think that Miller, at 215 will probably be around 230 by that time.

I'd hope to keep Middleton, but what would we do with Middleton, Miller, and Brodin? Isn't Lambos supposed to be in this mix? Yes, the Wild could have an embarrassment of riches back there, and not have to pay for it for a little while. 

If he's anything like me, he'll put on at least 15 pounds between ages 23 and 25. Let's just hope it's in the legs, unlike me where it was in the belly. 

I'd bet Middleton can be worthwhile on the bottom pair at that age, or possibly they'd be three-deep at LHD in this scenario. Lambos will only be 22, so top minutes in IA and a few games at the NHL level could work fine. 

[Protec]

I thought the Wild were gonna try to move up to get him in 2018. Being a Classic Lake Conference, guy I am a fan of the West suburban kids. 
 

I won’t get into my opinion of the 2018 draft but I’d like to see Miller come play for the Wild. That’s the type of defenseman you want. Big guy who can skate, hard to play against, and chips in some offense.

[vonlonster67]

Right on Justin! There's no way I let Middy walk if I was able to bring home Miller. Can you imagine having those two bash brothers on D.

Remember Middy had a later start in the NHL and I feel he's going to produce for many years to come. He's our blue collar guy and loves it here. With our young D coming up that would be the total package.

Your idea of spending all this cap money is exciting and I feel most fans lose prospective on this. We still need to be smart with our cap moving forward. KK could be a 15 million man and we will have our own D to sign in Faber at that time too. I cant imagine paying Spurgeon to the end of his contract as he's a great guy and leader, but not a playoff player.

Fun to dream now though, thanks for your article and insight to our future as we live in boredom of this off season free agency era.

Edited July 18, 2023 by vonlonster67

[Mateo3xm]

7 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

There is a chance that Miller will want to come "home."

Or there’s a chance he’ll want to stay in a huge hockey market and play for a team that has the potential to win a Stanley Cup in the next few years.

the Wild don’t have either of those things going for them.

if I was him I’d much rather stay where I am.

[Protec]

40 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Or there’s a chance he’ll want to stay in a huge hockey market and play for a team that has the potential to win a Stanley Cup in the next few years.

the Wild don’t have either of those things going for them.

if I was him I’d much rather stay where I am.

The Wild's trajectory is good and he's from MN so there's a chance, I'd say.

You make a good point though about staying put not being a bad option either.

Compared to guys like Merrill, Addison, Goligoski, and even Spurgeon there's reason to like having Miller instead given the age, size, skills, experience, skating, of the vets & prospects.

[B1GKappa97]

9 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Or there’s a chance he’ll want to stay in a huge hockey market and play for a team that has the potential to win a Stanley Cup in the next few years.

the Wild don’t have either of those things going for them.

if I was him I’d much rather stay where I am.

We will just have to see where we are in a few years.

I think the building blocks ARE there to be a contender in a few years, if things pan out for us. Hopefully guys like Yurov/Oghren/Khusnutdinov/Wallstedt/Lambos follow more of a Matt Boldy/Brock Faber trajectory in the NHL than a Marco Rossi/Calen Addison one. 

We have the ingredients for a potentially potent top-6, and our bottom-6 is generally always good/deep. We have potential for a 1/1A goalie tandem. We have size coming in the blueline with Lambos/Hunt/O'Rourke (if he can stay healthy) to fill out our bottom pairing. 

And we should, key word should, have boatloads of cap-space considering that the only long-term deals we'll have on the books that offseason (currently) are Kaprizov/Boldy/Ek/Geaudreau/Spurgy/Brodin. That's a pretty good core of players although Brodin and Spurgeon will be much closer to the end than beginning by that point. 

Which is where Miller comes in. 

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Or there’s a chance he’ll want to stay in a huge hockey market and play for a team that has the potential to win a Stanley Cup in the next few years.

the Wild don’t have either of those things going for them.

if I was him I’d much rather stay where I am.

I have to disagree with this assessment. Going into '25, I anticipate that we will be 2 players away from serious contention in a Western Conference that is weaker. We'll need that big center and that big defender. 

Our window just opens up around that time. Yes NYR is a huge hockey market, but MN is also a huge hockey market. Don't tell me Miller didn't pull for the Wild growing up. Also, I would have to say that raising a family in the suburban Twin Cities is probably nicer than in NY. Taxes are better and quality of life, I believe is superior, depending on what you like. 

I don't know much about Miller's personal life, but if he's got a GF in MN, perhaps that is the draw.

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, Protec said:

Compared to guys like Merrill, Addison, Goligoski, and even Spurgeon there's reason to like having Miller instead given the age, size, skills, experience, skating, of the vets & prospects.

I've got to project that the guys will be Brodin, Faber, Lambos, Middleton, Hunt & O'Rourke, with Peart, Spacek and Masters knocking on the door. Like Vonlonster, I think there can be a place for Middleton in the lineup, I just didn't project him there with so many prospects being ready. He does offer some unique sizing for the group that we need. 

One other thing on Middleton, I don't think he had his best year last season. Being the only big guy on the back end, his contribution on the ice, clearing the front and killing penalties was a necessity. I think he backed off his physical game a bit, and didn't get into too many fights because of this. With Miller in the lineup, this would free up Middleton to play that grinding game, especially in the playoffs which would make him a better player.

[Justin Hein]

On 7/18/2023 at 2:17 PM, vonlonster67 said:

Remember Middy had a later start in the NHL and I feel he's going to produce for many years to come. He's our blue collar guy and loves it here. With our young D coming up that would be the total package.

Middleton could age gracefully, but this often comes down to how healthy guys stay. Injuries are the primary factor which shorten guys' careers before their mid-30's, although Middleton's physicality and shot-blocking could work against him. We shall see!