6 NHL Teams That Should Send an Offer Sheet to K'Andre Miller This Offseason

The New York Rangers' offseason will see GM Chris Drury work hard to get them back to the playoffs. One of the things on his to-do list is to lock up defenseman K'Andre Miller to an extension.

As the NHL regular season winds down and the teams destined for the playoffs start looking ahead to that, everyone else has to start planning for the offseason. The Rangers got a harsh reminder of their reality when they blew a 4-2 lead in the final six minutes on the road against the Anaheim Ducks and lost 5-4 in overtime on Friday.

Miller is one of the Rangers best young players and one of their key defensemen and even though the salary cap is going up and the likelihood of a team successfully signing a restricted free agent to an offer sheet is even lower than it's ever been, what if a spry opposing GM went for broke to try and land Miller? After all, PuckPedia shows the Rangers already have about $84 million committed to the books for next season, thanks to the extensions for Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafrenière and Will Borgen kicking in.

Indulge us in our daydreaming as we examine which teams would best help themselves by trying to land Miller the easiest way possible by spending a ton of money and giving away draft picks in offer sheet compensation. We know you're going to yell at us for even suggesting it and we're sorry (read: not actually sorry) to Rangers fans that we're poking you while you're down.

Chicago Blackhawks

Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images

There are more than a few teams that are both in need of top defensemen and will have more than enough cap space to weaponize for offer sheets, but the Chicago Blackhawks should have everyone nervous about what they could do this summer.

Chicago has needs all over the ice to try and better support Connor Bedard and get back to the playoffs, but the blue line is in desperate need. Adding K'Andre Miller to a group that's building around Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, Kevin Korchinski and Wyatt Kaiser would give them a solid, younger veteran and not a guy who's deep into his career with the edge of the hill to go over immediately on the horizon.

Miller's all-around ability is something Chicago could desperately use on defense and given what they're building there and the way things in New York are starting to look a little dicey, the enticement to make the change would be clear. Whether Miller would pair with Levshunov, Vlasic, or Korchinski is the kind of problem you'd like to have because it means having enough talent to spread it around.

If GM Kyle Davidson wants to be bold to improve his team, nothing sends notice like a massive offer sheet, especially one that puts the pressure on another major franchise.

Buffalo Sabres

Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

You knew you were going to see the Sabres on this list and not just because yours truly watches all of their games and covers the team, but also because they've been desperately trying to get back to the playoffs for 14 years and coming up short.

Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams will have a boatload of pressure on him this summer to get things right and with the rising salary cap, he'll have even more potential cap space to use. Using it has been a problem the past few years, but if it meant bringing in a 25-year-old defenseman to help solidify the blue line for eternity, then that's money well spent, right?

The Sabres also desperately need to find a high-end defenseman to pair up with Owen Power. Yes, Miller is left-handed, the same as Power (and Rasmus Dahlin and Bo Byram), but that's a future issue to figure out. Miller's style of play would work well alongside Power, and he'd be an ideal fit for coach Lindy Ruff as well.

If there's a flaw in the plan, it's that the Sabres don't own their second-round pick in 2026, which, depending on the compensation for an offer sheet, could end this dream before it even starts. Still, the idea of adding a player like Miller to the Sabres' defense corps should be enough motivation to try and make it happen.

San Jose Sharks

Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

We mentioned how the Chicago Blackhawks could be a menacing team with all the salary cap space they'll have this summer, but the Sharks are another team to be deeply wary of.

The Sharks have loads of money to spend and they're a team on the rise as the fruits of their rebuild start to flourish in the NHL. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund have had phenomenal seasons, and they've got Sam Dickinson and Quentin Musty on the horizon. Having only super young players doesn't guarantee success in the NHL, however, and adding K'Andre Miller to the defense would help them stay young-ish but also grow up.

Miller would hop in with a defense corps that's led by Mario Ferraro and features Timothy Liljegren, Shakir Mukhamadullin and veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic. It's a group that needs more experience at the NHL level and much better depth and Miller checks both of those boxes in a big way.

Like all offer sheet situations, there is a hangup with San Jose. They've dealt away some of their future picks (notably their 2026 third-round pick) and depending on how much an offer sheet for Miller is worth, the Sharks may not have enough of their picks to be able to do it.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images

It's been inspiring to watch the Blue Jackets rally this season and be firmly in the race for the playoffs in the East, but when it's time for them to look ahead to next season, they should be one of the teams taking a long, hard look at an offer sheet for K'Andre Miller.

Columbus has Zach Werenski leading the way on defense with Damon Severson, but Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro are set to be unrestricted free agents and the Blue Jackets are looking at having a boatload of salary cap space to make use of. PuckPedia.com shows them with $53.6 million committed to next season, the fewest of any team in the NHL, and with a $95 million cap, look out.

Adding Miller via offer sheet would be a coup-and-a-half against division rivals like the Rangers and would instantly soften the blow for losing any of Provorov or Fabbro in the offseason while also improving the defense.

There is a catch, however.

The Blue Jackets' 2026 second-round pick now belongs to the Montréal Canadiens because of the Patrik Laine trade and that pick would be vital for many of the options in offer sheet compensation. The biggest snag for most pipe dreams about offer sheets is sometimes the money needed to make it happen, but it's also because of the picks required to pay out if teams don't match. Maybe the Habs would want to help a guy out?

Calgary Flames

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

It's not just about teams in the East who might want to take a chunk out of the Rangers by signing K'Andre Miller to an offer sheet; teams in the West make sense too, especially the Calgary Flames.

The Flames have a couple of outstanding defensemen in MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson and both of them are right-handed shooters. Calgary is lacking in high-end lefty shots and Miller would make for a perfect fit on their blue line based on his handedness and his style of play.

Miller can handle the puck and play physically, something Weegar can do well already, and adding the 25-year-old Miller to their group would solidify their defense corps to help support goalie Dustin Wolf. He would also allow the Flames to get a little younger as well. After all, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri aren't getting less old, time is rude that way.

The Flames have a ton of cap space to look forward to next season and if they wanted to pursue an offer sheet, they have all of their picks to be able to pay out if a team didn't match. Considering how close Calgary is to the playoffs this season, seizing upon that by making a splash would be great to see.

Winnipeg Jets

Michael Mooney/NHLI via Getty Images

The Winnipeg Jets have been an incredible team all season and could wind up winning the Presidents' Trophy this year. But what if we told you they could get a lot stronger on the blue line by signing K'Andre Miller to an offer sheet?

The Jets could have a lot of salary cap space to work with next season as they've got just over $58 million committed to next year's $95 million cap. They do have a few key players who could be unrestricted free agents, however, in Nikolaj Ehlers, Alex Iafallo, Mason Appleton, Brandon Tanev and Neal Pionk. The left side of their defense behind Josh Morrissey is an area that could use improvement and adding Miller via offer sheet would more than address that.

Adding Miller to the Jets would make them even more staunch defensively, better depth-wise and make a Stanley Cup contender (and potential defending Cup champion, depending on how the playoffs go) that much more difficult to beat.

Yes, the Jets are lacking some of their picks to compensate for an offer sheet (they traded their 2026 second to Pittsburgh for Luke Schenn, and their 2027 second to Seattle for Tanev), but with the Rangers being backed up against the cap as it is, making life uncomfortable for them may not require having to go broke themselves.