New York Rangers: Top five remaining UFAs that match team needs
With training camp set to start in about a month, teams will likely start signing the remaining UFAs to PTOs or NHL contracts. Let’s take a look at the remaining UFAs that the New York Rangers should add that would fill their needs.
The 2017-18 NHL season is just around the corner. The New York Rangers currently have just 21 players on the 23-man NHL roster. They also have just over $3 million in cap space according to CapFriendly. They will also have to replace Jesper Fast for a period of time since he is recovering from offseason surgery.
For these reasons, the Rangers will likely try to sign a UFA or two before training camp starts. Some of these players would be on PTOs (professional try out) or signed to an NHL deal.
Let’s look at the top five remaining UFAs that would help fill the needs that the Rangers currently have.
Daniel Winnik – Center
Daniel Winnik is a veteran center who played for the Washington Capitals in 2016-17. Winnik would be a great addition to the Rangers’ bottom six and help strengthen their center depth.
Winnik is a player who has been given lots of defensive responsibility during his career. 60% of his zone starts last season were in his defensive zone. Winnik has faired fairly well for a defensive player in possession metrics (49.6 CF% in 16-17 and 53.4 CF% in 15-16).
However, Winnik can also chip in offensively. Winnik’s line from the 2016-17 season was 12 goals -13 assists-25 points in 72 games played.
Winnik would be a solid and cheap addition the Rangers’ bottom six. He would help strengthen the center depth, should the Rangers feel that Lias Andersson is not ready to play in the NHL.
Winnik would be a low-risk signing, as it shouldn’t take more than $1.5 million to sign him on a one year deal.
Jaromir Jagr – Right Wing
The Rangers’ biggest need is another center. However, the remaining UFA center pool is not encouraging, save for Daniel Winnik.
The Rangers could load up on wingers to compensate for their lack of center depth. This would make Jaromir Jagr a perfect fit for the Rangers. I can already hear someone saying “Jagr is slow”.
Hear me out here, Jagr is still producing like a top six forward, despite his “slowness”. There are much slower guys than him in the NHL. And the Rangers could always compensate for this by putting him on a line with Mats Zuccarello or even Jesper Fast.
Jagr is easily the best UFA on the market still and would give a serious boost to the Rangers’ forward core. And the best part is that the Rangers likely could get him on a one or two year deal, which isn’t too bad of a commitment for a player of his caliber.
P.A. Parenteau – Right Wing
P.A. Parenteau is another winger who could be brought in to make up for the Rangers lack of center depth. Should J.T. Miller be moved to center, Parenteau would help soften the blow to the Rangers’ depth on the wings. He could also be used as a stand in for Jesper Fast for the first month or so of the season.
Parenteau is a player who can chip in offensively. He put up 28 points last season and 41 the season before that. He is a solid depth option for the Rangers.
Parenteau would be another low-risk signing since he could likely be signed for less than the minimum amount allowed to be buried in the AHL without it counting against the cap ($1.1 million).
Thomas Vanek – Left and Right Wing
Thomas Vanek winds up on this list for similar reasons to Jagr. Vanek is a top six winger who would provide tremendous value. In 68 games last season, Thomas Vanek scored 48 points.
Vanek would be a versatile player for the Rangers. He could slot in the top six or the third line, which is important should the Rangers have to deal with an injury. Vanek also is valuable on the power play, which would help boost the Rangers’ special teams even more.
The biggest knocks on his game are that he isn’t the greatest defender or skater, but that shouldn’t discourage the Rangers from signing him. Pairing him with two players who compliment his game can counter that.
Vanek could likely be signed for less than he was last season ($2.6 million), which would be a huge bargain.
Alex Chiasson- Right Wing
Alex Chiasson is the final player on the list. Chiasson isn’t a top six forward like some of the previous entries on the list. Instead, Chiasson is a depth player who would be used more than likely as the 12th or 13th forward.
Chiasson likely isn’t better than the other players on the Rangers roster who are slated to start. However, Chiasson is an improvement over Matt Puempel, who is currently the top option to replace Fast during his recovery.
Chiasson is another depth player who can produce offensively. He scored 24 points last season for the Flames, which is pretty good for a bottom six player.
Chiasson could be had for cheap. His cap hit from last season was $800,000 so he can be had for roughly that and can always be buried in the AHL.
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The New York Rangers have plenty of options to increase their forward depth going forward. These are just a few of the options that the Rangers have that could help them improve the roster for next season.
The Rangers still have a hole or two on the team that they need to fill if they are to be true “cup contenders” and signing some of the players in this post could do the trick.