New York Rangers Up for Contract – Unrestricted Free Agents

New York Rangers Should they Stay, or Should they Go

As stated all over the internet, the New York Rangers either will enter a period of rebuilding, which will come from a complete overhaul of their core players this summer, or they will choose to resign a majority of their free agents, which will leave the teams current roster looking fairly similar next fall.

The New York Rangers have an issue with spending, due to rental players and lengthy contracts given to declining and not-so-finely aged players. This means players entering the summer with unrestricted free agency clauses on their contracts will start to make a lot of noise. Whether Gorton restructures contracts, leaving fans to lash out in unrest, or decides to cut ties and let players move on to other teams, it will be an action packed off-season.

Here is a full list of everyone that was a roster player this season and will become unrestricted free agents this summer. Also, if you missed it, here is the list of New York Rangers that are becoming restricted free agents this summer.

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Unrestricted Free Agents

Eric Staal – Center

• 20 Games
• 3 Goals
• 3 Assists
• 6 Total Points

Dominic Moore – Center/Forward

80 Games

6 Goals

9 Assists

15 Total Points

Viktor Stalberg – Forward

• 75 Games
• 9 Goals
• 11 Assists
• 20 Total Points

Jayson Megna – Center

• 6 Games with New York Rangers
  • 1 Goal
  • 1 Assists
  • 2 Total Points
• 68 Games with Wolf Pack
  • 15 Goals
  • 29 Assists
  • 44 Total Points

Danielle Paille – Forward

12 Games with New York Rangers

• 0 Goals
• 0 Assists
• 0 Total Points

23 Games with Wolf Pack

5 Goals

6 Assists

11 Total Points

Dan Boyle – Defense

• 74 Games
• 10 Goals
• 14 Assists
• 24 Total Points

• Keith Yandle – Defense
  • 82 Games
  • 5 Goals
  • 42 Assists
  • 47 Total Points
• Raphael Diaz – Defense
  • 1 Game with New York Rangers in the Playoffs
    • 0 Goals
    • 1 Assist
    • 1 Total Point
  • 37 Games with Wolf Pack
    • 6 Goals
    • 15 Assists
    • 21 Total Points
• Chris Summers – Defense
  • 3 Games with New York Rangers
    • 0 Goals
    • 0 Assists
    • 0 Total Points
  • 74 Games with Wold Pack
    • 3 Goals
    • 8 Assists
    • 11 Total Points
• Antti Raanta – Goaltender
  • 25 Games
  • 2.24 Goals Against Average
  • .919 Save Percentage

New York Rangers Jeff Gorton has a Full Plate

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Unrestricted free agents (UFAs) are the heart and soul of summertime hockey. Who will stay, who will go, who will ride market value to wealth and which players will crash and burn after signing major contracts only to leave a general manager forced into early retirement?

The New York Rangers have a long list of UFAs and that list will surely be the cause of many headaches for the New York Rangers general manager, Jeff Gorton.

One name on this list is an easy scratch and can be forgotten about quickly, Dan Boyle. After his episode with media members this week, it is clear that the defenseman will no longer be a New York Ranger, not due to the exploding remarks shot at reporters, but because of family issues that will lead Dan into retirement.

Staal, Moore, and Summers

The Blueshirts lack of CAP space will force them to abandon a few players on this list. Some names that stick out are: Eric Staal, Dominic Moore and Chris Summers.

The trade to catapult the New York Rangers into Cup contenders at the trade deadline came back to bite them. Eric Staal was a non-factor during the 20 regular season games he played with the New York Rangers and the same held true during the playoffs. Staal should not come back as a Ranger and even entertaining the idea is a mistake. He is too expensive and he even admitted that the New York Rangers never saw him at his best. Why take another chance at failure? 

Dominic Moore is an awesome face-off man and a solid fourth line center, but he fell off this season and that may be the nail in his career as a New York Ranger. The guy has been through a lot in his life, losing his wife at a young age to a liver cancer and taking 18 months off from hockey, only to lace-up for a second time to again play at a professional level. His story is very inspiring, but the NHL is a business and the Rangers cannot factor emotion into this decision.

Moore recorded 10 goals and 27 assists for a total of 37 points and a +/- of 5 in the 2014-2015 season. He also was able to win 581 face-offs that season, which gave him a face-off percentage of 54.5%. This season he fell in offensive production by 12 points, only able to score 6 goals and 9 assists. He had a higher face-off percentage this season, 55.3%, but he was also involved in fewer face-offs and his +/- fell to -2.

Chris Summers currently makes $600,000 a year and is not vital to the organization in anyway. He can be traded or released, which will give the Rangers a little money to either up a current players contract, like J.T. Miller, or they could try and extend a one year contract to a young blue liner with some promise.

The Big Boys, Yandle and Raanta

The only two names on this list that will cause fans and the front office of the New York Rangers any anxiety are Keith Yandle and Antti Raanta.

Both are good players, although people seem to either love or hate Keith Yandle. I do not think Keith Yandle is overrated, and I apologize if that may have just sparked a fire in your eye, but hear me out.

He may have had a slightly off year when it comes to offensive production, but it was no where near his 2012-2013 year with the Coyotes. That season Yandle only accumulated 30 total points, granted he only played in 48 games that year, but he bounced back the following season recording 53 total points. This season Yandle recorded 47 total points off of 5 goals and 42 assists.

There is no other Ranger, with the exception of Zuccarello, who could potentially record that many assists in a single season and even Zucc ended the season 7 assists shy of Yandle. He also can be paired with either McDonagh, Skjei, or McIlrath. Either one of those defensive combinations is worthwhile. Keith Yandle should be resigned, not to a lengthy contract, but Gorton needs to figure something out that will work for both Yandle and the team, after all that is what Gorton is being paid to do.

Next: New York Rangers Up for Contract - Restricted Free Agents

Antti Raanta played well as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist and was able to win a few major games for the Rangers throughout the regular season. He is young, talented and cheap. Last year he made $750,000 and Gorton should aim to sign Raanta to a similar 2-3 year contract for $1.5 – $2.25 million. For a team that is trying to remain competitive, they cannot afford to lack a competent back up goaltender.

This off-season will be interesting and the fate of the New York Rangers will be decided in July, which is when most of these contracts come to an end and the UFAs run rampant throughout the NHL. The Blueshirts will either decide it’s time to start over and hit the drawing board, or they will try to place a bandage on their blue line and the center positions, cross their fingers and hope for the best. Only time will tell. However, it is time for opinions. I know you have them, so fire away.