It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’ve past the trade deadline, but general managers are still dealing with the aftermath of what happened. Teams are now having to deal with the what they do next after the deadline. The tone now shifts to July 1 and what happens to teams as we get ready for free agency. We could see some more deals happen and other signings get done. One team that has some choices to make is the New York Rangers. This edition of NHL rumours deals with what they may do in the off-season.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
What’s Next for the New York Rangers?
Rumour: Peter Baugh of The Athletic took a look at what the Rangers look like after the trade deadline. He also gives his thoughts on what the Blueshirts may do when the off-season roles around.
Analysis: Rangers General Manager Chris Drury did make some moves at the deadline. He did get Ryan Lindgren‘s $4.5 million cap hit off the books in shipping him to the Colorado Avalanche. Drury also signed Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen to contract extensions.
Those deals have given him some defensive clarity heading into the off-season. However, there are still a few moves that need to be taken care of. One of the Rangers more-important blueliners needs a new deal in restricted free agent K’Andre Miller. New York did a good job in clearing out some space. However, there is more work for Drury to do.
He also has to worry about deals for Will Cuylle and Adam Edstrom that are RFAs that need contracts besides Miller. One worries if teams are going to be more aggressive with offer sheets after seeing what the St Louis Blues did in the off-season.
What It Means
According to Baugh, the Rangers will have $12.1 million of cap space going into the off-season. However, those RFA contracts could take a big chunk out of that. Cuylle has played well enough to get a nice pay raise. Miller is also due to get an upgrade from his current $3.872 million salary.
The team wouldn’t have a lot of space to take a big swing in the off-season. This means talks of maybe shipping mainstays like Chris Kreider or Mika Zibanejad out of the Big Apple. Drury already mentioned that he was willing to deal Kreider during an early-season shakeup that saw Jacob Trouba sent to the Anaheim Ducks.
Trading Kreider without cap retention would free up $6.5 million of cap space. However, Kreider’s struggles and cap hit may scare teams off from eating the whole number. Drury has worked magic in freeing up massive hits before, but this could be a difficult thing to do. The Boston-area native also has a 15-team no-trade list that limits where he could be sent to.
Baugh also mentions that Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin could also be moved, but both also have full no-movement clauses. This makes dealing either one of them very difficult and both are in the top three of point production. Trading these players would free up space, but leave a massive hole in the team’s offensive production.
Main photo by: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
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