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New York Rangers: Which core members are not expendable?

By LOGAN CLEMENTS

May 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) and New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) celebrate after defeating the Ottawa Senators in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) and New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) celebrate after defeating the Ottawa Senators in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 20, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers right wing Jesper Fast (19) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens with teammates center Mika Zibanejad (93) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers right wing Jesper Fast (19) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens with teammates center Mika Zibanejad (93) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

Ryan McDonagh

Ryan McDonagh has been the Rangers’ best defenseman for several years now. McDonagh also happens to be one of the premier defensemen in the NHL. McDonagh does not put up the offensive numbers of someone like Erik Karlsson.

However, McDonagh does manage to consistently be in or around the top 20 in scoring for defensemen. He does that while providing tremendous defensive value for the Rangers.

McDonagh is coming off a season where he fell one point short(42) of his career high (43). His shooting percentage of 3.9% also happens to be two percent lower than his career average (5.9%).

McDonagh happens to be in the prime of his career. He is 27 years old, which is when a player typically enters their prime. He does turn 28 on June 13th, but that still gives him several seasons before he becomes past his prime.

When all of this is considered, it is easy to see that it would be hard for the Rangers to replace Ryan McDonagh. He’s a top tiered defenseman and a leader on the team. And he happens to only have a cap hit of $4.7 million. The number of contracts better than his can be counted on your hand.

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