New York Rangers: How does the rest of the offseason play out?
Brandon Cohen
I see the remainder of the offseason playing out somewhat quietly for the New York Rangers, but with a couple of moves still left to come.
First, I believe the Rangers will manage to trade Nick Holden for a center. There will be other pieces involved, but I believe Holden has not yet been moved because Jeff Gorton is confident he can make him one of the primary pieces in a deal for a center.
Two names stick out for me: Tyler Bozak and Ryan Spooner. The prediction here is that Holden is coupled with a prospect or a pick to get one of those two centers, effectively placing everyone back into their rightful spots on the depth charts.
I also see the Rangers signing a winger to a tryout in training camp, then carrying that winger on the active roster. Think a Jiri Hudler-type.
Other than that, it will be quiet the rest of the way.
Tim Haggerty
The New York Rangers won’t have a particularly busy offseason from here on out, but they will make one big move; they will find a way to trade Nick Holden for a center.
It’s been reported by TSN and NBC Sports that the Rangers are interested in parting ways with Holden. It’s also no secret that adding another center would help the team significantly.
The free agent market is barren in terms of centers. The only options are underperforming players or older guys. Trading seems like the last chance for a good center.
Holden had a good regular season last year but really suffered in the playoffs. A lot of general managers might be willing to look past that and focus on his positives.
Where Holden will go is a mystery. The Oilers could use a defenseman, but whether or not they want to give up a center is unknown.
I think it’s clear this is the top priority for the Rangers now and they have done a great job getting things done that they find important.
Michael Delasandro
With opening night inching closer the Rangers really should wrap up their major offseason moves.
It doesn’t seem impossible to see Holden dealt away and to see Bereglazov or DeAngelo get an opportunity in the top 6, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking. Staal most likely will not be moved (unless moved at a loss).
With the forward lines mostly wrapped up very well with the acquisition of Desharnais, perhaps the Rangers look to free agency to acquire Jarome Iginla or Jaromir Jagr for a veteran leadership role to groom Jimmy Vesey, Chris Kreider, and Pavel Buchnevich. Although it is unlikely to acquire either for a cap hit that would seem responsible.
The Rangers seem to have a very set roster for the start of the season.
Joshua Lipman
The Rangers make a move to clear out at least some of their defensive logjam. They deal Nick Holden either in a package for a center or in exchange for a mid-round draft pick.
St. Louis makes sense as a destination for Holden. They’ve got limited cap space and only two left defensemen on their roster. And if the Blues want to move on from Paul Stastny, then Jeff Gorton should find a way to add him.
The Rangers don’t have the pieces to land a star like Matt Duchene, but they can’t afford to enter the season with their current situation down the middle. Kevin Shattenkirk didn’t come to New York to play for a bubble team. One solid, two-way center to handle defensive matchups and chip in 40+ points makes this roster downright scary.
A move for a top-nine center may or may not happen, but Jeff Gorton needs to find a penalty killing forward or two. Daniel Winnik still hasn’t signed anywhere and does excellent work in shorthanded situations.
I’d like to think Marc Staal plays elsewhere next season, but the front office passed on the chance to buy him out. If a miraculous taker emerges for Staal, bet on Florida.
George Ruggiero
The New York Rangers have had a busy offseason. Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta were traded, Dan Girardi was bought out, and Kevin Shattenkirk was signed. Following that, all that was left to do was sign the team’s restricted free agents.
Jesper Fast signed very early on, settling for a low-cost, three-year deal. Mika Zibanejad, however, held out until his arbitration date. That morning he signed a 5 year, $5.35 AAV contract. Now that he’s re-signed, I think the Rangers have a quiet offseason.
Its apparent that both general manager Jeff Gorton and head coach Alain Vigneault are comfortable with Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes filling in the top two center roles. They already picked up a bottom six center in David Desharnais, and I’d bet that they are hoping for a prospect to finally make the jump to the NHL.
Word is already out that Gorton is trying to move veteran defenseman Nick Holden. However, if he does, it won’t be a blockbuster move. Most likely, it’ll be a move that helps the Rangers from addition by subtraction.
Realistically, the Rangers don’t have much more to do with the roster. And what they need to do, acquire a top line center, is almost impossible with the team’s prospect pool. From now until the start of the season, don’t expect to see the Rangers in the news.
Logan Clements
For the rest of the offseason, I believe the New York Rangers make very few changes.
The Rangers’ biggest need is another top six center, but they are limited in their options by their cap space. This will probably prevent them from making a trade for a top six center of from signing one of the better UFAs still left on the market.
Instead, the Rangers will likely look to add a depth player or two for their NHL roster and the AHL roster. The Rangers do not have a full 23 man roster, as of yet, and they have plenty of room for players on AHL contracts in Hartford. The Rangers also are expected to be without Jesper Fast for about a month to begin the season, which creates a need for another depth player on the roster.
Becuase of this, I don’t believe that the Rangers are going to make another “big” move during the offseason. Instead, they are going to work on adding depth and wait for the trade deadline to put the roster over the top.
Dan Carrozzi
Unfortunately, I think the rest of the off-season for the New York Rangers will be relatively quiet.
The defense has largely been overhauled and there are now too many defensemen on the roster.
With the signing of Zibanejad, the Rangers have a little over $3MM in cap space.
Ideally they would use one of their surplus defensemen in a package for another top or middle six center. Nick Holden, Marc Staal or even newly acquired Anthony DeAngelo would be the most agreeable to move.
However, much of the off-season movement is done and I don’t see anything else changing that fosters a big move that hasn’t already been made.
I do still think that due to the surplus of blueliners, that the Rangers move one of Staal or Holden before training camp even breaks. I think that Holden, at his lower cap hit and lack of no movement clause, is the one that will be gone.
The Rangers will finish off the off-season with acquiring one or two more depth forwards. While they aren’t needed, the Rangers often like to pick up ‘reclamation project’ forwards on low cost 1 year deals or give them PTOs.
Former Rangers such as PA Parenteau and Lauri Korpikoski could fit the bill here, for such a deal.
Alexandra Russo
With Zibanejad re-signing, the New York Rangers still have a lot of thinking left to do this offseason. They’re in need of a number one center, and there are different ways to go about doing so.
The rest of the offseason should feature a means by which the Rangers acquire that top six center because they won’t go into the season without it. I think another big trade is brewing for the Rangers. That player could be as big as Matt Duchene from Colorado or Nick Bjugstad for the Florida Panthers.
The most important thing in all of it is that I don’t think the rest of the offseason will be quiet. Something major will happen…maybe not along the lines of Derek Stepan crazy, but something important.
Next: Top five hated opposing players
There’s no way this is the end of what Gorton has in store. Expect the Rangers to make a big move, and soon.