Carolina Hurricanes’ K’Andre Miller Is Playing His Best Hockey at the Right Time – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

If there is someone on the Carolina Hurricanes who is due for some flowers, it’s defenseman K’Andre Miller. After being acquired on July 1 in a trade from the New York Rangers, he signed an eight-year, $60 million extension with a $7.5 million average annual value. While his first full regular season in Raleigh had some learning curves, Miller is being rewarded for his efforts with his best hockey being played at the right time.

Being Rewarded After a Learning Curve Regular Season

During the regular season, Miller tallied eight goals, 29 assists, and 37 points in 72 games. He missed some time due to injuries, but when he was on the ice, he showed glimpses of why the Hurricanes traded for him and signed him to his long-term deal. There were some growing pains along the way, which every new defenseman experiences as they learn the Hurricanes’ man-on-man defensive approach. There were stretches where he was playing some great hockey and others where the system showed how daunting it is for newer players.

However, during the playoffs, Miller has been locked in and playing his best hockey of the season. He is currently tied for fourth on the team in points (four) and is logging an average ice time of 23:57 through six games. Not only that, Miller and defensive partner Sean Walker have been an underrated duo in the playoffs as a shutdown pair that’s also providing some sneaky offense.

Following their Game 2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, when asked how his and Miller’s performances, Walker stated, “I like to think I’m playing pretty good, but Key’s been unbelievable. I think he’s on another level right now. Just his abilities, his stick, his skating, his physicality, the plays he makes every night has made it easy on me and I’m just trying to help him out whatever I can.”

That’s some high praise from Walker, who played 81 games and was the only defenseman not to be injured, for his defensive partner. Miller has been using his speed, size, reach, and skating ability to break up passes while selling the body to make big plays. Furthermore, he has been throwing some key hits to stop plays from setting up. Overall, he’s been playing as the Hurricanes envisioned he would.

Even head coach Rod Brind’Amour felt that way when asked about the pair during the playoffs, saying, “can kind of go down the list, especially with our D right now. That pair, Miller, you’ve got to give him his due too because he’s been great, logging a lot of minutes against top, top competition. I mean, all year they’ve been doing that, and that’s one of the key reasons our defense has helped us to be where we’re at.”

Brind’Amour mentioned how they’ve been good all season together, not just in the playoffs. The way defense coach Tim Gleason has worked with his group all season, it’s no surprise these guys figure out the system in year one and just keep progressing. The defensemen stick to the system, learn from each game, and fightsto get one per cent better every day. Miller has done that in spades and is being rewarded for it in the playoffs.

While there are hopefully many games left for the Hurricanes this postseason, Miller is playing some great hockey and is showing why the team traded for him by logging huge minutes against opponents’ top players. If he can keep up this form or even elevate his game further, Miller will be someone to watch as the Hurricanes aim to make a deep playoff run.