Former Rangers GM delivers hilarious quip about K’Andre Miller $60 million contract with Hurricanes
Former Rangers GM delivers hilarious quip about K’Andre Miller $60 million contract with Hurricanes
It’s safe to say that if former New York Rangers general manager Neil Smith was still an NHL executive, there’d be no way he would’ve handed K’Andre Miller as massive a contract as the Carolina Hurricanes did last week.
Miller signed an eight-year, $60 million contract, worth $7.5 million annually, after the Hurricanes acquired him in a July 1 trade with the Rangers. Defenseman Scott Morrow and two 2026 draft picks — a conditional first-rounder and a second-round selection — were acquired by the Rangers in return for the skilled, yet inconsistent 25-year-old.
On his recent NHL Wraparound podcast, Smith sounded incredulous about Miller’s expensive deal when speaking with guest Elliotte Friedman.
“But my goodness, Elliotte, these guys, like I’ve seen K Andre Miller play since he got there (in New York),” Smith ranted. “If he’s a $7 million defenseman, you know, I’m a $10 million podcaster.”
He may have been born and raised in Ontario, but Smith was straight out of New York with that dose of sarcasm.
Friedman, the NHL insider with Sportsnet, was more diplomatic with his take. He pointed out that three RFA defensemen Miller, Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson “benefitted from being free at the right time, and there just wasn’t a lot of players available.”
