The Carolina Hurricanes knew they had to make a bold move if they wanted to improve their blueline this past offseason after back-to-back years of top-four departures.
The team had lost four dependable defenders over the span of two years and they really didn't have a ready heir apparent for that top-four role.
However, it didn't take long though for the front office to find their man.
The New York Rangers were in a stalemate with RFA defenseman K'Andre Miller on a new contract after a disappointing year and so trade rumors had been circulating for a while.
One threat of an offer sheet though was all it took to get New York to the table and eventually the two teams team got the deal done, with the Hurricanes exchanging two picks and rookie blueliner Scott Morrow for the 6-foot-5 defender.
The team then subsequently signed Miller that same day to an eight-year, $60 million deal, putting a ton of faith in a player who had only ever played in the Big Apple.
But it seems like that faith was well placed as Miller just made his Canes debut, and boy did he look good, scoring two goals in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
"I always thought about just the noise and the atmosphere that the Canes fans bring," Miller said about his debut. "It's truly special and like I said, to be on the other side... it's just so special. You feel the energy in the building from shift to shift and it was amazing. I have nothing but great things to say. Obviously it was my first game, but it was amazing. I loved it."
"Can't get much better than that," said Seth Jarvis on his new teammates first game. "Two quite different goals there, but you could tell from the first time he stepped on the ice at practice and at training camp that he's a special player. He's also still young so I can only imagine what levels he's going to get to."
Even beyond the goals, Miller really stood out for Carolina.
The 25-year-old logged 19:10 of ice time beside Jalen Chatfield on the Canes' second pair and he registered two goals, four shots, two hits and a blocked shot in that time.
He was utilizing his reach and size well, limiting the Devils' potent forwards and you could tell he got more and more comfortable as the game went on.
"He was exceptional," Brind'Amour said. "Take the goals away even. Just impactful. And for a guy who hasn't played a game yet, like, he's been out for many months, he stepped right in and looked like he hadn't missed a beat. Obviously pretty excited to have him."
But it's nice to have some goals too.
"I think that was one of the biggest things for me, just making a good first impression," Miller said. "I think the guys have done an amazing job of just getting me caught up to speed and this adjustment period has honestly been very simple, very easy and all the guys are pushing me in the right direction."
The defenseman hadn't even really had a chance to get too acclimated with the team either as he was held out for the entire preseason as the team was being extra careful with his recovery from an offseason procedure.
But one would have never guessed he hadn't ever donned the black and red sweaters before Thursday night.
"Honestly, it was kind of weird," Miller said. "Obviously there was some adjustments and in-game stuff that I was trying to figure out on the go. Obviously I didn't have any preseason games so this was kind of my real first look with the team. I think once I got adjusted and up to speed again, the game felt great. It was fun."
The Hurricanes have to be excited from what they've seen of Miller and they'll be relying on that talent level not only for this season but also many more years to come.
"Key was a beast," said Taylor Hall. "I think he's gonna fit in so well here with how we play and just with how he moves, the skill he has and the reach and the length, he's such an effective player that I think is going to do really well in our system and just with the players that we have.
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