New York Rangers: Five non-tendered free agents that could be targeted
![Oct 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Nail Yakupov (64) handles the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scottrade Center. The Flames won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports Oct 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Nail Yakupov (64) handles the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scottrade Center. The Flames won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/c7201440413b6f5e5b6bd5433e47811c9b1981004f511b4695eb34761cb8aff7.jpg)
Nikita Nesterov
Nesterov is a very interesting player for me. In fact, I would go as far to say that he is my favorite of the five players I am writing about today.
The 24-year-old Russian isn’t the greatest defensively, but don’t tell that to his metrics. Granted, Montreal is a pretty solid puck-possession team–they ranked third in the league–Nesterov posted the second best CF% of Canadiens defenders (54.3) and had the best CA/60 numbers of any Canadien who played at least 20 games (49.21).
He stands in at about 5-foot-11 and weighs about 190lbs, so he is about average size. He has a hell of a shot and can skate with the best of them. Although he is a left defenseman, he still would be a decent fit on the Rangers blueline. With that said, the Rangers defense is a case of too many guys for just a few slots. If they make a trade to unload a defenseman, or even if they don’t, Nesterov should be a guy the team calls from the get-go of free agency on July 1st.