As the Rangers are in their offseason, it’s time to take stock on their assets. Understanding what certain things are worth helps make navigating the summer a lot easier.
The New York Rangers have a nice stockpile of assets because of their trade deadline moves. The team has a bounty of the most valuable asset in hockey, draft picks. Draft picks are the most valuable asset because they are a blank slate that anybody can project something onto. Being that the Rangers have three first round picks, they have three cracks in the first 31 picks.
The draft is the most reliable way to acquire high end NHL talent. The way the league’s salary cap and draft pick rights system work severely limits the power of players. For the most part, players selected in the first round won’t sniff anything in the form of a raise for at least three years after being drafted. This is why the Edmonton Oilers only paid Connor McDavid $925,000 this season even though he was arguably the best player in the league again.
The best way to compete in the NHL is getting two or three talented players all on entry level contracts all at the same time. The Toronto Maple Leafs three headed monster of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have a combined cap hit of $2.71 million. This is what allowed the Maple Leafs to go out and sign Patrick Marleau last summer.
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The Rangers have seven picks in the first three rounds this summer and that means plenty of resources for potential moves.
Expiring contracts
A veteran player on an expiring contract has a vast swing in terms of asset value. The Rangers were able to acquire a bundle of assets for forward Rick Nash at the deadline even though his deal expires this summer. The mindset of trading an expiring contract to recoup some value is a sound way to restock the pipeline.
The Rangers went all in for several straight years which meant trading draft picks and prospects for players like Nash. Now, to refill the cupboard after years of staving off, they had to part with a quality player. Yet, with how Nash has preformed for the Bruins, this deal looks great for the Rangers.
A player in a similar position to Nash was is Mats Zuccarello. The Norwegian forward has one year left on his deal following the end of the 2017-2018 season. The team signed him to his current deal back in 2016 at $4.5 million per season. This was an economic deal for a player that would lead the team in points in each season of his deal.
Understanding what Zuccarello is worth is nuanced because of his uniqueness as a player. The forward has played the entirety of his career with New York and thrived under the now departed Alain Vigneault. The team has a tough decision to make, does Zuccarello fit the team’s new window going forward? He is going to be 30 when this deal expires and probably seek a raise on his last high earning power contract.
The Rangers may be better off trying to trade him, but the return won’t be a ton. The team would be lucky to get a low first round pick for Zuccarello at the deadline next season.
Restricted free agents
To suppress the earning power of draft picks and protect the financially weaker teams, the league has what are called restricted free agents. This means that the player can only negotiate with their current team or another team can submit what is known as an offer sheet. An offer sheet is rarely used because it is so costly for the team that submits one.
This means that a player that is a restricted free agent has three options: take the team’s offer, go to arbitration or refuse to play and demand a trade. This process can be messy and damage the team’s relationship with a player down the line. In the Rangers case, they’ve had a few restricted free agent deals develop into tricky situations.
Team’s run the risk of offering what is called a bridge deal and hamstringing themselves in the future. A bridge deal is a short term contract negotiated while a player is a restricted free agent. For example, if the Rangers signed Kevin Hayes for 2 years and $3.5 million per it’d be a bridge deal. This is the team asking Hayes to prove he is worth a long term deal.
The Rangers have a handful of restricted free agents this summer. Brady Skjei, Kevin Hayes, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Vesey, Rob O’Gara and John Gilmour are all RFAs. The team could look to trade the rights of one of these players to another team. This would give that team the exclusive negotiating rights with that player.
Long term contracts
The last type of asset to cover are players locked up to multiyear deals. These are players with at least two years remaining on their contract that have a higher cap hit. It is very rare that a player signed to a long term deal is not earning at least $3 million per season.
Players on the Rangers who currently fit this description are Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal and Henrik Lundqvist. However, as part of their contracts, long term deals may also have no-movement clauses. This allows a player to reject a trade to another team if they don’t want to.
There is no way to trade a player on a no-movement clause if they do not agree. The Rangers cannot trade Staal or Lundqvist away this summer without their permission. No matter what someone may tweet out suggesting a move, without their okay.
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Hopefully this guide to asset value can help you understand this summer’s moves. Things are going to be very interesting in Rangerstown this offseason.