The Rangers selected four players this weekend, keeping all four of their picks. All the talk about possibly trading players to acquire additional selections or move up in the draft proved to be just that, talk. GM Chris Drury rightfully refused to overpay for picks and the result of having traded picks at the deadlines were seen in the lack of second and third round selections. The only deal made by Drury was to move up in the fourth round by moving the team's pick that round and a 2026 seventh rounder. I will get more into the draft in another column, but this article centers around free agency on what has historically been known as Xmas in July.
The Rangers have limited cap space as of press time. That is expected to change somewhat once/if Jacob Trouba is traded. Even when/if that happens, New York is unlikely to go swimming in the deep end with future looming negotiations for Igor Shesterkin, which is already rightly causing massive consternation, and Alexis Lafreniere as well as to a lesser extent, Braden Schneider and Ryan Lindgren, who are a current RFAs, and K’Andre Miller.
With a need on the right side of the first line, several possible targets have already come off the board. Jake Guentzel, a long shot to sign, has reportedly inked a seven-year deal at around a $9.25 mil AAV in Tampa where he helps to make up for the expected departure of Steven Stamkos. Tyler Bertuzzi appears to have signed a four-year deal with a $5.5 mil AAV in Chicago. All the Patrick Kane speculation dissipated as he signed a one-year deal with a $4 mil base and $2.5 mil in attainable bonuses. San Reinhart is staying in Florida as expected with an eight-year deal with an $8.625 AAV.
Larry Brooks below gives his view. Stamkos would be a possible primary target. He turned down $3mil AAV over an eight-year deal, so a four year deal would need to probably come in at $6 mil. Given the team’s lack of current cap space and fact Stamkos is only 34, meaning you can’t structure the contact with attainable bonuses to lower the main AAV, are you going there?
Jake DeBrusk certainly is an option as are Jonathan Marchessault or Tyler Toffoli. I would not overpay for any of them, irrespective of what Brooks wrote below, though I do agree with him, but because I don’t think they are worth what they might get. If I have an option of the three, give me Marchessault, whose signing would reverse the mistake of giving up on him years ago. Chandler Stephenson may end up too pricey for NY, though he would fit as a 3C if Filip Chytil was moved to wing, which appears unlikely. Could Vladimir Tarasenko be an option, same with trading for Nikolai Ehlers?
All that said, I wouldn’t be shocked if Victor Arvidsson is a target. His shooting percentage the last two years concerns me, mainly from his inability to convert despite who he was skating with over that time. In the flip side, you would hope a progression to the mean will happen allowing his production to rise. Arvidsson is solid 5x5 which is a need. Jeff Skinner, waived by Buffalo, also could be a cheap target. But New York will have competition there.
Sam Steel could have been a fourth line target but he re-upped in Dallas. Blake Lizotte is a name to keep in mind as is Jordan Martinook. Same with Tyler Johnson, who seems to come up annually. But New York has to keep open space for the kids to potentially fill bottom-six spots with a shot for a few, mainly Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann, to move up the lineup.
On defense, Erik Gustafsson needs to be replaced. Trouba likely as well and I will discuss that situation below. A primary target has to be Matt Roy. His addition would make up for the physical play lost if Trouba goes and would give the team an upgrade at the back end.
Brendan Dillon would be a fine add but he looks to be earmarked along with Brett Pesce to New Jersey, making them a much stronger team. Zac Jones could be the sixth d-man, but as we have seen, the team has not shown the willingness or appetite to give him a full time role. Nikita Zadorov is likely too pricey, same with a reunion with Brady Skjei or addition of Brandon Montour. Chris Taney certainly would have been a target, though my concern was he would be overpaid, and it looks like he will sign with Toronto after his rights were dealt there. I very much would have liked adding Alexandre Carrier, but he re-signed with Nashville.
Brooks on the free agent market:
Because unless Steven Stamkos hits the market and it is No. 91 whom the Rangers target to fill the right wing spot beside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, there is no one else on the list of free-agent right wings worth the money to sign.
Not one of them, whether Tyler Bertuzzi, Jake DeBrusk, Jonathan Marchessault or Tyler Toffoli would have made the difference against the Panthers and that is the only gauge by which management should be evaluating potential additions.
Me, if I can’t sign Stamkos — and that would have to be a long shot, right? — I am giving a long look to Brennan Othmann up there with Zibanejad, or maybe I’m taking a look at Will Cuylle on the right. The Rangers do not have to have the perfect lineup on opening night. They do not have to have the perfect lineup at Christmas. The Rangers have to have the perfect lineup after the trade deadline.
Brooks, Mollie Walker and Vince Mercogliano below on Trouba:
Here is my view on the Trouba situation. You have to separate the player and the person. All those ranting and raving as to how dare Trouba holds up a possible trade, consider what a move means for him and his family, as Mercogliano and others noted. As of a month ago, he was the captain of a team two games away from going to the Stanley Cup Final. Fast forward a few weeks, and he is being asked for his no-trade list that’s due today with the goal to jettison him out of town.
He came to New York, partially due to the expected salary and long-term deal, due to the medical system with his wife in med school. He has blended into the city and become a face of the franchise. Trouba has a sixth month old child and being asked to move elsewhere because he is no longer wanted. After GM Chris Drury failed to give Barclay Goodrow sufficient notice of being placed on waivers, he slightly attempted to remediate that with Trouba, though that has failed miserably.
The longer this goes one, the worse the optics look. Resolving this is a priority. Trouba’s agent, Kurt Overhart, had no issue squeezing the Rangers on his deal. He is known for playing hard ball with his clients, so in this case, the tables are turned. It’s possible he and Trouba add Detroit to their no-trade list, making a move more complicated, which could result in him landing on waivers, like Goodrow.
On ice, we all know what the analytics show. Trouba, even before the ankle injury had struggled a bit, and his play declined even further after that. He is best suited for the third pair, which at $8 mil, is unsustainable and not a wise use of cap space. That’s why a move is being explored, and as Brooks notes, will happen one way or the other.
Drury has clearly put his stamp on the team and franchise the last few weeks. The name on the front is way more important than the name on the back and business is business, loyalty he damned. That works to an extent but he can’t forget that it’s also a people business and as you reap so shall ye sow.
You may dislike the player but the bashing Trouba has received is unfair. Yes they are athletes but they are people first and foremost. Never forget that when evaluating a situation and try and separate the two.
Monday is the day that Jacob Trouba’s no-move clause transforms to a 15-team no-trade list. There are apparently hurt feelings on the part of the captain, maybe even deservedly so over the way the club’s intentions were splashed all over the papers and the internet last week.
But it would be counterproductive for Trouba to put on a pout and attempt to make it as difficult as possible for the Rangers to trade him. Trouba has always played hardball in contract negotiations. He had leverage with then-GM Jeff Gorton after the Blueshirts obtained the defenseman from Winnipeg in 2019 with one year left on his deal ahead of potential free agency that he used to get his current seven-year, $56M contract that has two years remaining.
Now the Rangers have leverage via the limited no-trade clause and have decided they can’t afford an $8M cap hit for a defenseman who is projected to be on the third pair. It doesn’t matter whether he was Captain Courageous playing on a broken ankle in the playoffs or not.
If Trouba does not approve a trade to Detroit that is believed in place, he will ultimately be sent somewhere else, perhaps by waivers. The decision has been made.
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