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New York Rangers: Thoughts on the offseason through mid-July

By John Williams |
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 03: New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes (13) skates during the second period of the National Hockey League Game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 3, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 03: New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes (13) skates during the second period of the National Hockey League Game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 3, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We’re officially in the dog days of summer. With nothing crazy going on right now for the New York Rangers, I have a few thoughts I wanna get off my chest.

  •  The New York Rangers have been extremely quiet to this point in the offseason.
  • While it would’ve been nice to sign some risk/reward type forwards like Anthony Duclair or Tobias Rieder early on, or even take a shot at a Thomas Vanek type who they could flip at the deadline, sitting back and doing nothing wasn’t a bad way to go.
  • The Rangers main focus is player development, and they have a lot of players they want to battle out for a roster spot coming into the season.
  • The forwards who will definitely be on the roster come opening night will be Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, Pavel Buchnevich, Jimmy Vesey, Jesper Fast and Vladislav Namestnikov. And if Ryan Spooner isn’t traded in the meantime, he should be added to that list as well.
  • That means there will be four-five spots in their forward group available for players to win in camp. Players such as Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howdon, Boo Nieves, Steven Fogarty, Vinni Lettieri, Michael Lindqvist, Ville Meskanen, Ty Ronning and Cole Schneider will compete for said spots, along with veterans Matt Beleskey, Cody McLeod and Peter Holland.
  • As you can see, the Rangers have a lot of options in-house already. And besides, they currently have 43 players under contract not including Hayes, Spooner and Brady Skjei, so they want to keep some in-season flexibility for trades.
  • After starting off last season with zero center depth, the Rangers now have oodles of it.
  • Between Zibanejad, Hayes, Namestnikov, Spooner, Andersson, Chytil, Howden, Fogarty, Nieves, and Holland, the Rangers have a lot of options.
  • With that said, I would prefer the Rangers to keep Andersson — and maybe Chytil as well — in the AHL to start the season unless they have an out-of-this-world training camp and preseason.
  • I do not want the Rangers to rush any of those kids. Keep them in the AHL and play them 20 minutes a night if you have to. The Rangers cannot afford to screw up their development by playing them up in the NHL too soon.
  • Now for the Kevin Hayes situation.
  • While I think it might be best to ship him out of town if they can get a top pairing defenseman since they have so much center depth, I truly do see Hayes in a Blueshirt for this upcoming season. I think the team will give him a contract similar to what they gave Kreider a few years ago; a four-year deal worth $5 million a season.
  • Hayes is a guy who, if deployed a bit differently, could score 30 goals and around 55-60 points if all things break right.
  • But the one thing the Rangers absolutely shouldn’t do is bridge him.
  • I don’t think bridge contracts are dumb or anything like that. For instance, the Jimmy Vesey bridge deal was perfect because he’s a guy who really hasn’t shown anything more than third line wing capability.
  • Bridge deals are for bottom six forwards and bottom pair defenseman. You lock up top six forwards and top four defenseman. That’s why Hayes and Brady Skjei should both get long-term extensions.
  • Skjei’s arbitration date is July 31 and Hayes’ is August 2, so it is very realistic to expect to hear about their contract extensions sometime this week, especially in Skjei’s case.

Next: Five potential trade destinations for Kevin Hayes

  • If the Rangers could lock him up for around five years and for around $4 million or less per season, that could be a great marriage.
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