Free Agency decisions: First, sign their own.

Good morning, boneheads! 

According to CapFriendly the Rangers have 17 players under contract. That includes 9 forwards ( counting Puempel), 7 D-men ( including Klein, Deangelo, and Kampfer), and one goaltender. Assuming Klein does retire, they’ll have close to $23M to complete the roster. A couple of things to consider. One, there is a very high chance we will face another lockout after 2019-2020 season. Two, this year the maximum contract that could be stashed in the AHL has been bumped  to $1.025M 

First, let’s look at their own restricted Free Agents, Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast. Both are important players, and both will be re-signed ( you’re welcome, Coos 😃)

Zibanejad is arbitration eligible, and will probably file, but he doesn’t have a strong case because of his injury last season. He will become a UFA in 2 years. So the question is, is it better for him to take 2 year bridge and face uncertainty because of the lockout in 1 year after his contract expires, or does he sacrifice some money, and goes long term with bonuses laden contract to protect him from lockout? I think Gorton, and this organization, may benefit from that scenario. I believe long term at $4.1-4.5M should get it done. 5-6 years? 

Fast is eligible for arbitration too, and even though he is a year older than Zibanejad, is going to become a UFA within the same 2 year frame.  Fast is facing the same dilemma. I believe 4 year deal at around $1.6-1.95M should get this one done too. 

The last one of their own is Smith. I believe they should really try and sign him for many reasons, most important being that NY seems to be a good fit. But if he wants much more than $4.5M per year ( again, bonuses laden) for 4 years, I’d walk away. After that they’ll still have around $12M to spend, and a few important positions to fill. Would that be enough?

New Post

I like starting new posts after about 300 comments. HAV at it.

Important Week Ahead for NYR

Good morning, boneheads!

Previous post was getting too long, time to move on. We will find out by the end of this week what Gorton had in mind when he talked about “rebuild on the fly”.

Meantime, ICYMI, according to multiple media sources, NY qualified RFAs Mika Zibanejad, Jesper Fast ( both at a 100% of their base salary, $3.25M, and $1M respectively), and Nick Jensen ( at 105% of his base salary, or $630K).

Also, Gorton did not give qualifying offers to Pirri, Skapski, and Clendening.

Pirri’s scoring ability wasn’t enough to overcome his questionable skating, and he didn’t do enough down the stretch ( especially on PP) to warrant his return.

The decision on Clendening is a bit surprising to me, as he was another R handed D-man they let go. He is only 24, has shown some offensive ability, and it would’ve only cost them $630K to retain his rights. NY doesn’t have any issues with the amount of contracts, they are well below 50.

Another player who left was Marek Hrivik. Hrivik has been with this organization since 2012. He, according to Carp, wanted out. Which probably means he elected to become a Group 6 UFA ( a player who is 25, has been under professional contract for at least 3 years, and played in less than 80 NHL games).

Hrivik was on a promising path initially, and was projected to be a steady bottom 6 forward, but his development was derailed by two concussions, the last one, and the most vicious, courtesy of a certifiable jackwagon Zac Rinaldo.

Big Day for Rangers

Yesterday was a pretty big day in the course of the Rangers franchise. The repercussions of the activity yesterday will be felt as early as next year, but will reverberate through the team for the next half decade.

Alex Wins the Contest; Entry Draft Tonight

With an impressive 12 correct selections for the Vegas Golden Knights, Alex has won the contest.  E-mail me your address at rangersreport2@gmail.com and I will send your prize package over.

The rest of you will be relieved to know that this was the last contest I will run. Excuse me for trying to do something fun and/or nice.

Rangers Lose Oscar Lindberg to Vegas Golden Knights

Here is a new post to discuss Lindberg and all thing Vegas and awards. HAV at it.

Expansion Draft Contest

Even though the last contest went poorly, I’m having another one. Whoever correctly guesses the most players selected by the Vegas Golden Knights will win a Rangers trading card prize package featuring classic Rangers from the 60s-90s. In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker will be most correct answers from the Metropolitan Division, the second tiebreaker will be the most correct answers from the Atlantic, and the third tiebreaker will be the Central Division. After that, I am picking names from a hat.

You can find the protection lists here. The contest will run until 3 p.m. Tuesday, and chances are information will leak before then so it is in your benefit to wait a bit before making your submission. Good luck!