NEW YORK - K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers has been suspended three games for unsportsmanlike conduct for spitting at Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.
The NHL’s department of player safety announced the suspension Tuesday following a hearing with Miller, who will miss upcoming games Wednesday at Philadelphia, Thursday against Ottawa and Saturday at Boston. He’ll also forfeit $15,000 in salary.
Miller, 23, was given a match penalty and ejected late in the first period of the Rangers’ game against the Kings on Sunday. In a message posted on social media Monday, Miller called his actions “completely accidental.”
“I would never intend to do something like that on purpose,” Miller wrote. “It goes against everything I am as a person and player. I felt awful about it.”
It’s the same length of suspension as Garnet Hathaway got in 2019 for spitting on Anaheim’s Erik Gudbranson when with Washington.
Miller’s suspension complicates New York’s already murky roster situation ahead of the trade deadline Friday. The Rangers have been making roster moves to maximize salary cap space in advance of an anticipated trade for three-time Stanley Cup-winning Chicago winger Patrick Kane.