The dust has settled on the disappointing end to the New York Rangers season and it’s time to take an early preview look at the offseason. Chris Drury and the Rangers front office have a list of questions to answer this summer. Does Gerard Gallant return? What free agents come back? Who could be available in a trade? What prospects are ready to graduate to the NHL? Do they make any moves at the NHL Draft? Let’s take a look at some of these pending questions.
Does Gerard Gallant Return?
This might be the most important question Chris Drury faces this offseason. As soon as the final whistle blew ending an embarrassing Game 7 performance the rumors surrounding Gerard Gallant’s future started. Immediately names like Joel Quenneville, Darryl Sutter, and Mike Babcock were presented as possible candidates to take over.
Personally, I think Gallant deserves to keep his job. His first two seasons behind the bench have been huge successes. Yes, they lost in the first round, but they just did not match up well with the Devils. Just 11 months ago he had them 2 wins away from a Stanley Cup Final appearance. He has the highest winning percentage of any Rangers coach in team history that has coached for more than a year. There could be a rift in the locker room that people are unaware of, but I do not think getting rid of Turk is the solution.
What Free Agents Return?
UFA Decisions
At the trade deadline Chris Drury brought in four pending unrestricted free agents. Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, Tyler Motte, and Patrick Kane. With the cap barley increasing from this year and with the salary cap gymnastics Drury had to do to bring them all in most will be departing. The most likely returnees are Motte and Mikkola. They have both expressed a desire to return and they both will receive contracts that will not break the bank. Tarasenko will almost certainly go elsewhere on a large contract that the Rangers cannot afford. The last question is Kane. If he needs surgery can the Rangers retain him on an incentive laden deal? Maybe 1 year $2 million? That is the only way he stays. The Rangers also have a back-up goalie question. Jarolsav Halak is a pending UFA. Do they bring back the soon to be 38-year-old, or do they look elsewhere for a cheaper, maybe in-house option?
RFA Decisions
While the UFA options seem pretty simple, the Rangers restricted free agents could throw a huge wrinkle in their plans. The Rangers have 3 RFA’s that they need to resign: K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere, and Zac Jones. The most important of the three, which I think will be the most difficult of the negotiations is K’Andre Miller. Can they sign him to a bridge deal? Will he take a longer-term deal with less money? If Miller’s agent pushes for a deal north of $6 million the Rangers are in trouble. I think a two-year deal in the $4 million range is where it will end up but this could get interesting. Former first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere disappeared in the playoffs. 0 points, 0 impact. He had a career high 39 points, but he has yet to take that next step. I believe he will receive a bridge deal similar to his kid line linemate Kaapo Kakko and be in the two years at $2 million range. Zac Jones played 16 games with the Rangers this season but was an AHL All-Star with the Hartford Wolf Pack. From all accounts he was the best player on their team this season. Lehigh Valley Phantoms Assistant Head Coach Riley Armstrong went as far to say, “he is too good for this league.” I can see Jones getting a 1-year deal in the million-dollar range, but I think he is mostly concerned with an NHL opportunity. He is ready but are the Rangers ready to bring him up?
Trade Market
Rangers fans are quick to put guys on the trade block without realizing they have a no-movement clause. So for all the fans looking to trade Jacob Trouba, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, and Chris Kreider, sorry but they have full no-movement clauses. The most likely names you will hear in trade rumors surrounding the Rangers are, Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Lindgren, Kaapo Kakko, and the three RFA’s if they cannot get deals done. Barclay Goodrow does have a limited no-movement clause, limiting him to 15 teams he can be traded to. Making $3.6 million as a 4th line center Goodrow is the most likely candidate. Goodrow has done everything that the Rangers expected of him, but with just $11 million in cap space, they do not have the luxury of playing a 4th liner that much money.
NHL Ready Prospects
For the past few seasons Rangers fans have been told that the prospect pipeline is overflowing. The kid line emerged last year, Braden Schneider has been excellent, but not all the young talent has panned out. Nils Lundkvist was traded to Dallas, Vitaly Kravstov was shipped to Vancouver, and Julien Gauthier was delt to Ottawa. With the cap crunch the Rangers are facing they need a few of these prospects to graduate so they can replace higher priced contracts with ELC’s. The most likely candidates are 2021 first round pick Brennan Othmann, 2020 second round pick Will Cuylle, and 2020 fourth round pick Dylan Garand.
Brennan Othmann
Othmann got an extended look in training camp last year, following a 50 goal OHL season. This season he had a strong showing at the U20 World Junior Championships, winning his second consecutive gold medal and is averaged 1.20 points per game in the OHL this season. He can score and can play a physical game.
Will Cuylle
Cuylle appeared in 4 games with the big club this past season and showed the physical play he can bring. He can also score. He led the Wolf Pack in goals this last season with 25 and is a year removed from a 43 goal OHL campaign.
Dylan Garand
Garand played 32 games with Hartford this season following an outstanding CHL career. In 2021-22 Garand led Team Canada to a U20 WJC gold and was named the CHL Goalie of the Year. He has been outstanding so far in the AHL playoffs for the Wolf Pack as well. If the Rangers decide to not re-sign Halak, Garand could be the choice to back up Igor.
NHL Draft Outlook
With the draft pick conditions on the Rangers trades for Tarasenko and Kane official, the Rangers are now left with 4 draft picks in their year’s draft. The Rangers own their own 1st round pick, with the Blues receiving the Stars selection, since it will be the later of the two. They own the Colorado Avalanche’s 3rd round pick, from the Alexandar Georgiev trade. Their own 6th round pick and the Winnipeg Jets’, from last year’s Andrew Copp deal. I can see the Rangers trying to acquire another mid-round pick in the 3rd to 4th round range.
Summer of Now
The Rangers Stanley Cup window is now. Chris Drury needs to make every decision with the expectation that it will lead to a parade in NYC next summer. The pressure is on!
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