Don’t expect big Rangers splash
Forget the Big Splash, at least for this year. Even if there were a deep pool into which to dive, the Rangers wouldn’t do it. Next year, maybe … next year, probably … next year, definitely.
When the NHL’s freeagent, cash-and-carry market opens at noon on Sunday, the rebuilding Blueshirts — get used to it, folks, this isn’t a retooling or a reshaping — will be operating largely on the margins. General manager Jeff Gorton will be looking for wingers to fill in some of the bottom-six blanks up front, and seeking, if possible, to add at least a pretense of veteran depth on the back line’s right side.
Ideally, the Rangers want to add some muscle, grit and veteran presence to the lineup, but they are not living in an ideal July 1 world. Ryan Reaves, who checks all of the above boxes and was targeted by Gorton, has decided to remain with Vegas. Antoine Roussel, at least an instigator if nothing else, is apparently sealed and already delivered to Vancouver.
Players are taking advantage of the supply-and-demand dynamic to attract contract offers all but certainly in excess of their legitimate hockey-related worth. More power to them.
The Rangers are willing to pay, and, depending on one’s definition, overpay, for players who fit into the vision. But the objective is to hold the line on term to two years, perhaps three years at the most. They do not want to be bogged down by longterm commitments to thirtysomethings heading into 2020-21.
There are, however, a couple of younger players who came onto the market this week after failing to get qualifying offers from their respective teams for whom the Rangers should be willing to go at least three years, and perhaps even four, to sign.
They are: 25-year-old winger Tobias Rieder, late of the Kings after spending the previous 3 ¹/2 years with the Coyotes, and 26-year-old Daniel Carr, allowed to go free by Montreal following a couple of spins with the Canadiens after winning an NCAA title at Union.
Both are energy-type players, straight-line guys who play with some jam and can bring it to the net. And each has a modicum of scoring ability. Reider scored 18 goals in full-time duty with Arizona two years ago before getting 12 last year, while Carr scored 14 goals in 94 games over three years with the Habs.
Rieder, coming off a twoyear deal worth $2.225 million per, will cost more. He likely will be able to attract at least a three-year deal in the $10 million neighborhood, if not more. Three years for him seems a no-brainer from the Rangers’ perspective. Four is probably palatable.
Carr earned $725,000 per on a two-year contract with Montreal, so he’s more likely a two-year, $2.4 million signing. Not that the Rangers have to be concerned with cap ramifications on this type of contract, but the AHL exemption is set at $1.025 million this year. Hence, if Carr (who would require waivers) winds up in Hartford, the NHL cap charge would be insignificant.
The Rangers also likely have some interest in 30year-old Tommy Wingels, the energy-type, versatile forward who wound up with Boston at the trade deadline after bouncing around the past few years following a five-year run in San Jose.
Leo Komarov, the veteran Maple Leaf, is an instigator type. Well, let’s be honest here: He has a history as a cheap-shot artist. The Rangers might be interested in a one- or two-year deal for a fourth-liner’s money (repeat: might), but there is no indication that’s how he perceives himself. It’s too bad Sean Avery threw his skates into the Hudson six years ago.
One-time Islander Blake Comeau, 32, who has somehow bedeviled Henrik Lundqvist throughout his career, could enter into the mix.
Nowhere are the Rangers shakier than on the right side of their defense, the current depth chart featuring Kevin Shattenkirk, Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo and Steven Kampfer, with lefties Brendan Smith, John Gilmour and Sean Day available to play their off-side. In a word: yikes.
But the pickings on the right side are remarkably thin. The Blueshirts checked in on 28-year-old Greg Pateryn, who got 19:37 per of ice last year with Dallas, but he is believed off to Minnesota. It is possible that the Rangers could, for instance, pick a Mark Fayne or an Erik Gryba out of the bargain bin just to provide some organizational depth.
Splash.