New York Rangers: Five things that’ll make this season worth the wait

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 05: Filip Chytil
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 05: Filip Chytil
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EDMONTON, AB – MARCH 3: Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers skates during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 3, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kevin Hayes
EDMONTON, AB – MARCH 3: Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers skates during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 3, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kevin Hayes

A Resolution in the Kevin Hayes Saga

The Rangers’ fan base thought it was very peculiar when one of the team’s young leaders was signed to a one-year deal a season before being eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Coach Quinn noted in an interview with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen that Hayes and the team view the contract as an “earn-it” deal.

While that might be the case, the Rangers need to either re-sign him before the trade deadline or trade him. It’s very black-and-white.

While it is on a much smaller scale then the Islanders/John Tavares saga, Hayes leaving the Rangers for nothing in unrestricted free agency for nothing would be a humongous failure for the organization.

While it is understandable that they don’t wanna lock up a player into his 30’s when they have plenty of young, quality prospects at his position. At the end of the day, he could be used as a huge trade asset, but the Rangers need to have a game plan here.

Hayes could very well have a career season in a role that asks more of him offensively and less of him defensively. It will be interesting to see how Quinn deploys him going forward.

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