Hurricanes swing big again, land K'Andre Miller in sign-and-trade with Rangers

RALEIGH, N.C. — Out with the old and in with the new seemed to be a Carolina Hurricanes theme Tuesday on the first day of NHL free agency, at least defensively.

Gone are veteran defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov, who each left Carolina as free agents. Coming to the Hurricanes is 25-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller, who agreed to an eight-year, $60 million contract before being traded by the New York Rangers.

Carolina, in exchange, sent conditional first- and second-round picks in the 2026 NHL draft and defenseman Scott Morrow to New York.

“We’ve been talking for a while about it,” general manager Eric Tulsky said at a late-afternoon press conference at Lenovo Center. “They were obviously looking at other players in free agency and needed to clear the cap space and also the roster spot. So we’ve been talking about what a deal would look like for a while.

“It was important for us to do it without giving up any major pieces off of our roster if we could. Obviously, Morrow was close but he wasn’t quite there for us last year. It’s a big price to pay but we think (Miller) is a great fit for us.”

The Canes hold two first-rounders for 2026 after picking up the Dallas Stars’ first-round selection in the March trade that sent forward Mikko Rantanen to Dallas. The Rangers will receive the better of the two picks, which are top-10 protected.

On the first day of free agency, always unpredictable, the Canes first made news with a different long-term contract: the signing of forward Logan Stankoven to an eight-year, $48 million extension.

That announcement came an hour before NHL free agency officially started at noon. That’s when the wait began on the landing spots for Burns and Orlov, unrestricted free agents who decided to hit the open market and remained unsigned.

“Right now, I do not anticipate either of them being back with us,” Tulsky said. “Obviously, that can change with one phone call but that’s where we are right now.”

Burns, who was traded to the Canes by San Jose, will turn 41 during the 2025-26 season. But he has played 925 consecutive games and spent the past three years with Jaccob Slavin on the Canes’ top D pairing.

Orlov, 33, came to Carolina as a free agent in July 2023, signing a two-year, $15.5 million contract. With the departure of defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei in free agency a year ago, Orlov and Jalen Chatfield became the Canes’ second defensive pairing.

The departures of Burns and Orlov add up to a defensive hit for Carolina over two years. But Miller should be a key addition for the Carolina blue line, bringing size — he’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds — and toughness to the lineup.

“He’s a really powerful skater who can close out really effectively and take away time and space,” Tulsky said. “The aggressive way we play is going to suit him very well. He’s also very strong in front of the net, defending and protecting the front of the net. I think his skating and recovery speed is going to be really effective for us.”

Defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who left Russia to join the Canes at the end of the regular season, is expected to fill a lineup spot on the back end. Nikishin, 23, is 6-4 and 215 pounds and underwent a trial-by-fire getting in four playoff games for the Canes.

A left-shot defenseman, Miller was made a first-round pick by the Rangers in the 2018 draft, taken 22nd overall, He made his NHL debut in the 2020-21 season, playing 53 games as a rookie alongside veteran Jacob Trouba and being named to the NHL All-Rookie team.

The Minnesota native has been a durable D-man for the Rangers, playing 74 or more games in each of the past four seasons. He averaged 21:57 in ice time in 2024-25, exactly matching his career high from 2022-23.

Miller signed a two-year, $7.744 million contract extension with the Rangers in July 2023.

Miller was a part of the U.S. National Team Development Program, playing international competition for the U.S., and had another two years of college hockey at Wisconsin.

The Hurricanes added a depth defenseman Tuesday by signing veteran Mike Reilly to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Reilly, 31, played 18 games for the New York Islanders last season after undergoing a heart procedure in November.

Reilly has played more than 400 career games for six NHL teams.

The Hurricanes also added more depth to their goaltending Tuesday, signing Amir Miftakhov out of the KHL to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Miftakhov $775,000 on the NHL level or $100,000 on the AHL level, with a guarantee of at least $240,000.

Miftakhov represented Russia at the 2020 IIHF U20 World Championship, winning silver, and the 2019 U20 World Championship, winning bronze.

“Amir has put together a number of solid seasons in the KHL and is ready to return to professional hockey in North America,” Tulsky said in a statement.

Miftakhov, 25, played with AK Bars Kazan in the KHL this past season, finishing with a 13-11-3 record, 2.18 goals-against average, .927 save percentage. He also has played in the AHL.

Miftakhov represented Russia at the 2020 IIHF U20 World Championship, winning silver, the 2019 U20 World Championship, winning bronze, and the 2018 U18 World Championship, where he was named a top three player on the team.

The Canes on Monday worked a deal with the Montreal Canadiens for the rights to goalie Cayden Primeau, who spent much of the 2024-25 season with Laval Rocket of the AHL. Carolina gave up a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.