New York Rangers: Tough Decisions are Looming

With a solid draft in the books for the New York Rangers, the team will move into the week with no blockbuster deals finished, which is a bit of a surprise. But one thing is for certain, in all likelihood on or before July 1st–the first day of Unrestricted Free Agency–the team will be trying to make at least one happen. If the Rangers want to contend again, it’s going to take tough decisions in addition to recognizing and fixing the “right” problems.

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First off, the Rangers did a nice job at the draft with addressing their big organizational needs by replenishing the prospect pool, mainly on the defensive side of the ice. I give them overall a solid B+ for all the picks they made at the draft, which helped fill those needs, which Gordie Clark did very well, again. However, the Rangers will need to continue to apply the same mindset, used in the draft to improve their own pro blue line as well. Realistically If both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi are on the roster, nothing else the Rangers do will matter.

The Rangers need to avoid Steven Stamkos at all costs, but unfortunately, there’s a chance they may be a potential suitor if he hits the open market on July 1st.

They just never learn, do they? I can tell you this; if the Rangers do manage to pull off a Stamkos signing it could put the Rangers in salary cap hell for a long, long time. Now, of course, the Rangers could trade Derek Stepan and Rick Nash to create some cap space, but remember unless Dan Girardi or Marc Staal are gone from the roster the moves are pointless and won’t fix any of the problems the Rangers dealt with last season defensively. Plus, Stamkos’s contract is expected to cost almost double of what Stepan’s does; the Rangers need to avoid this at all costs.

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Stepan produces like a 1st line center and has similar possession numbers to Stamkos. While Stamkos is a once in a lifetime elite goal scoring free agent, there is a time and a place, and this is not the time nor the place for the Rangers. Stamkos makes the most sense for a team like the Detroit Red Wings, who just lost Pavel Datsyuk to the KHL and traded his rights to the Arizona Coyotes.

This all leads to making the difficult decisions of what to do with Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Though not impossible, the no-movement clauses makes their contracts extremely difficult to move. With the expansion draft rules set and clear, the Rangers need to make a decision primarily on Girardi. Either buy him out or miraculously trade him, as for Staal either find a way to trade him or be stuck with him for another year and hope he can find a way to contribute more consistently. Girardi gave it his all, worked as hard if not harder than any athlete in today’s NHL game, but it’s in the Rangers best interest to move on.

The buyout window closes on June 30th, so the Rangers have a tough decision to make, but it’s one that has to be done. A Girardi buyout would include dead cap weight for the following years below, and the Rangers would be taking a massive cap hit if they choose to do it next year. With full knowledge of the expansion draft rules, it’s clear now that the Rangers will be forced to protect both Staal and Girardi. This is a risk the Rangers cannot take going forward and at the very least Staal or Girardi must go.

The Rangers made an interesting deal following the conclusion of the 2016 NHL entry draft, by acquiring Nick Holden for a 4th round pick, who carries a manageable cap hit of 1.65 million for the next 2 years. Holden is a cheap defenseman who has the ability to move the puck pretty well who is probably an immediate upgrade over Marc Staal for about $4 million less. This is a sneaky find, and a great start for Rangers GM Jeff Gorton’s offseason, but it’s nothing compared to the tough decisions he will have to make heading into this week. Holden is a bit too expensive to be a 7th defenseman, and it would be foolish to waste cheap talent for somebody that can certainly thrive in a top 6 defensive role. So, if the Rangers choose not to move/buyout Girardi and/or trade Staal, it could cost them Dylan Mcilrath, Kevin Klein or both.

The Rangers should focus all their attention on acquiring another defenseman, and perhaps consider trading tough assets such as J.T Miller, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash. Realistically, at least one of those four are being shopped by Jeff Gorton right now. Puck moving defensemen such as Kevin Shattenkirk, Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon should all be high on their radar, as belief is they are all available. There will be changes and tough decisions surrounding the Rangers in the upcoming week that will say much about Jeff Gorton, like it or not.