It was an eventful Canada Day in the hockey world. While the Golden Knights made the biggest splash by trading and signing former Maple Leaf Mitch Marner, the area locals were quieter by comparison.

Even as the Rangers landed their number one target in former LA King Vladislav Gavrikov to shore up the blue line, where he’ll pair up with Adam Fox, they made bigger headlines later that day.

It had long been speculated that they weren’t bringing back restricted free agent K’Andre Miller. Unwilling to commit long-term on a polarizing player who showed flashes during his first five years in the Big Apple, they took a risk by agreeing to trade Miller to the division rival Hurricanes in exchange for a package that included a conditional first round pick, plus a second round pick in 2026, along with Scott Morrow.

The deal was contingent on Miller signing an extension with the Hurricanes. They hammered out an eight-year contract with a $7.5 million cap hit. They’re banking on the 25-year-old defenseman to make the necessary adjustments to become the player most scouts believe has a higher ceiling.

Unfortunately, he was inconsistent over the past two seasons after achieving personal bests in goals (9), assists (34), and points (43) under former Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant in 2022-23. For whatever reason, he never improved under Peter Laviolette the last two years.

Miller was even very critical of his  performance. He admitted at one point during 2024-25 that he let the noise get to him. There certainly were a lot of distractions that derailed last season. It doesn’t matter anymore.

Miller will now move to the next chapter of his career with Carolina. If any coach can fix him, it’s the detail oriented Rod Brind’Amour whose structured system has turned around other players, including Brady Skjei. He left Raleigh for Nashville last year and struggled mightily on the dysfunctional Predators.

The Hurricanes seem to be able to plug players into their system without any problem. With Miller, it’s more between the ears. You know the talent is there. But he doesn’t always make the best decisions. It’ll be interesting to follow him in Carolina. Maybe he’ll finally figure it out. For the Rangers’ sake, let’s hope not.

As far as the return goes, it’s similar to draft pick compensation when a team signs a player to an offer sheet. The Hurricanes didn’t have a third round pick. So, they had to get creative by sending Morrow over to the Rangers to complete the deal.

Morrow is a 22-year-old offensive defenseman who the Hurricanes selected in the second round in 2021. In parts of two seasons, he has a goal and five assists for six points in 16 career games. Currently, he projects as the seventh defenseman behind Urho Vaakanainen and Carson Soucy. He put up 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points over 52 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL (American Hockey League).

In what was the most important news of the day, the Rangers signed key restricted free agent forward Will Cuylle to a two-year deal with a $3.9 million cap hit. They avoided any complications by getting it done before a team could sign him to an offer sheet. Something that loomed as a strong possibility if you believe Larry Brooks.

In his second year, Cuylle posted career highs in goals (20), assists (25), points (45), and plus/minus (15) while playing in all 82 games. He scored twice on the power play and posted his first two shorthanded goals. Thirty-nine of the 45 points he put up came at even strength. Cuylle led the Blueshirts with 301 hits, which tied him for third in the league.

With the organization moving on from Chris Kreider, who was dealt to the Ducks on Jun. 12, Cuylle becomes Kreider’s replacement. A gritty player with a nose for the net, he should start on a line with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad. They found some chemistry while playing together towards the conclusion of the season.

Cuylle could also slot in on the top power play unit, depending upon what new bench boss Mike Sullivan wants to see. He wasn’t a big fan of Miller, which led to him being traded yesterday.

One thing to like about the 23-year-old Cuylle is the strong work ethic he possesses. He’s a tenacious player who brings a lot to each shift, including his strong combination of skating and physicality.

Cuylle could supplant Kreider on the top penalty killing unit alongside Zibanejad. That would be a good fit. He played mostly with Vincent Trocheck last season. Trocheck paced the club with six shorthanded goals.

All in all, Chris Drury did okay on Tuesday. He filled a need by signing Gavrikov for seven years with an AAV of $7 million.

The 29-year-old left defenseman played extremely well for the Kings. After coming over from the Blue Jackets on Mar. 1, 2023, he became a shutdown player for LA.

After posting six goals, 17 assists, and 23 points in 2023-24, Gavrikov put together his best season by registering five goals with 25 assists for 30 points and a career-high plus-26 rating in 2024-25. He averaged over 23 minutes per game while blocking 140 shots.

He’s a good skating defenseman who should be an upgrade for Fox over former defense partner Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren wound up signing with the Kraken for four years with an $4.5 million AAV yesterday. Gavrikov was considered the top free agent defenseman on the market. Once Ivan Provorov re-signed with the Blue Jackets for more money (7×$8.5 million), it was obvious that Gavrikov would land in NYC. Emily Kaplan had reported it first.

Drury then got Cuylle done for a reasonable bridge deal. The Rangers couldn’t afford to wait. If a team had offered him over $5 million, they might’ve been forced to take the compensation due to their cap situation.

After finally executing the sign and trade that sent Miller to Carolina for a good return, Drury added veteran forward depth by inking Taylor Raddysh to a two-year deal for a $1.5 million AAV.

Raddysh isn’t exactly someone to get excited about. He was okay for the Capitals, putting up seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points. He’s a bottom six forward, whose best season came with the Blackhawks when he had 20 goals and 37 points in 2022-23.

If you’re asking me point blank, I’d rather see Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard play over him on a projected third line with Juuso Parssinen.

They also signed former Devil Justin Dowling. He’s probably ticketed for Hartford.

In related news, Zac Jones signed with the Sabres for a one-year, two-way deal. He wasn’t qualified by the Rangers. I hope it works out for him in Buffalo.

Arthur Kaliyev wasn’t qualified either. He remains unsigned.