Last night's trade which saw K’Andre Miller be traded to Carolina in return for Scott Morrow, a first and a second round pick next year means all of the first round picks made by the Rangers from 2017 to 2019 have been traded. Miller who was taken 22 overall in the 2018 takes on a new challenge in Carolina next season, but the biggest takeaway from the trade has to be the underlying development issues in New York which is causing players to be driven away from the team.
Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist and Kappo Kakko where all destined to be part of the Rangers future, but with all now on different paths and trajectories, is it really their fault, and is there some deeply rooted issues within player development which is causing this mass departure of young players? Players like Miller and Kakkoo in particular came into New York as highly touted talents, and we're expected to reach the NHL level almost instantly, but much like Miller found out yesterday, the Rangers standards may be too high, but for players like Kakko in particular, the development may just have gone terribly wrong.
Whether it is the development deep down, or if it is just the poor draft quota they have in New York, things haven't quite gone to plan for New York, and could still yet to be over. With first overall talent like Alexis Lafreniere expecting to be on the chopping block this year, he is another clear example of poor player development in New York, and shows how the New York Rangers as a franchise could be a nightmare for upcoming prospects. Although those like Kravtsov and Lundkvist were not world beating talent, they were still failed by New York, and now that their first round class from 2017-2019 is fully abolished, there is surely some issue deep down in the player development pipeline.
Sure the Rangers have had some great talent through the draft over the years, and have developed some pretty average guys into superstar, Hall Of Famers like Henrik Lundqvist, but, as of recently, it is clear they have some problems with man management, and have some obvious weaknesses in player development, especially with prospects. A player like K’Andre Miller who could go on to rediscover his form in Carolina could be the prime example of New York’s failures, and could be a trade they regret. But, as time slowly goes on, those drafted in 2020 and 2021 should be concerned, and those who have been dealt with badly, and been led down the wrong path could be the next batch of victims of New York’s player development.
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