The New York Rangers are expected to have around $20 million in cap space this summer, there are a number of possibilities that come along with such financial flexibility.
Whether or not things start to get restless at Madison Square Garden this summer could very well dictate the next decade of New York Rangers hockey. Rebuilding, especially in New York, is never popular. With the fourth most expensive ticket on an average night, the Rangers need to put a competitive team on the ice to justify such a lucrative fee.
Over the course of the last two years, the Rangers have dressed 12 rookies over the last two seasons as the front office tries to establish a new foundation. It takes years, not months to develop players and its part of why teams don’t make the decision to rebuild lightly. It’s a multi-year commitment to bottoming out and experimenting with unproven talent.
The main issue thus far in general manager Jeff Gorton’s rebuild is a lack of blue-chip talent selected in the draft to usher in the new era of Rangers hockey. While Filip Chytil has shown promise and Vitali Kravtsov looks good in the KHL, they’re both long ways away from becoming elite players, even though they may be someday.
This is what makes a report from TSN and the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun all the more interesting. The Rangers are expected to try and court pending Columbus Blue Jackets unrestricted free agent winger Artemi Panarin according to LeBrun. The more interesting note was that if San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson also made it to free agency, the Rangers would be in play for both.
LeBrun at the intermission says he expects #NYR to spend this offseason, he says they feel they've gotten young enough and now it is time to add, they will go after Artemi Panarin and they will also go after Erik Karlsson IF he goes to UFA July 1 and doesn't re-sign with San Jose
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) March 2, 2019
What it would mean
If Gorton were able to land both Panarin and Karlsson in the same summer, it’d be one of if not the biggest single offseason of all time for a team. Karlsson is a multi-time Norris Trophy winner and one of the best offensive defenseman to ever lace up the skates. His unique combination of skating ability and vision make him one of the best playmakers in the sport.
It’s not exactly a secret that the Rangers defense is the weak spot of the team. There are some nice pieces on the team and in the system, but none of which who can be counted on to play 28 minutes per game come the postseason. Adding Karlsson to this crop would immediately give the lineup a greater sense of balance and make the unit as a whole better.
When it comes to Panarin, he’s easily one of the ten best wingers in the entire league and is a bankable 70 points per year. Adding the Russian forward to the Rangers current crop would greatly improve the talent and in turn, make the young players better. Sliding Panarin in alongside Mika Zibanejad could yield great results.
Adding two 70 point players to the current roster wouldn’t instantly make the Rangers a contender but it would give the team a direction going forward. Anytime a team can add one let alone two elite talents, it must leave no stone unturned in trying to court them. The potential signings would move things along and make the Rangers significantly better.
Is it feasible?
Now, just because the Rangers would be better off with Panarin and Karlsson doesn’t mean that they’ll just fall into New York’s lap. As of now, the team would have enough cap space to sign one of the two this upcoming summer. It would require some maneuvering to free up enough space to sign both as well as key restricted free agents.
The Rangers have five restricted free agents this summer: Brendan Lemieux, Tony DeAngelo, Pavel Buchnevich, Neal Pionk and Fredrik Claesson. All five figure to get raises on their entry-level contracts which could pose a problem if the team genuinely wants to land both of this summer’s marquee free agents.
The main issue between New York and their dream July 1st are a handful of tough contracts. The three, Brendan Smith, Kevin Shattenkirk and Marc Staal represent nearly $16 million against next year’s cap. It would likely require the team buying out or trading at least one of the three to make things work financially.
On the open market, Panarin will likely get offers of at least $10.5 million per year and Karlsson around $11 million. With the high taxes of New York state, the Rangers will have to throw more money at potential free agents than other landing spots. To take on more than $21 million in cap space, the Rangers need to make several moves.
The reality
In all likelihood, New York will only be able to seriously pursue one of Karlsson and Panarin. There is the possibility that part of the pitch is being able to play with each other, in that case, there would likely be moves in place already. Making the Staal/Shattenkirk/Smith contract go away will help, but it’d require the Rangers dangling an asset in conjunction to do so.
Giving away future draft picks or prospects is the very antithesis of rebuilding. However, it all depends on what the timeline for returning to contender status is. If the team feels that adding Panarin and Karlsson to what is in the pipeline would be enough, it’d be worth moving future assets.
But, if this is a half-baked attempt at making the team competitive right now at the expense of the future, it’d be a ghastly mistake.
Up to this point, Gorton and the rest of the front office have done things the right way. Having 20 draft picks over the course of two years, is the right way to rebuild. The cornerstone of any successful roster overhaul is cost controlled entry-level contracts.
Free agents are always overpaid on the open market because the player wages are artificially depressed by salary rules. So, by the time a player can meet with other teams, they’ve lost years of potential earning at market value, so they look to make up for it.
If they can only sign one, I lean towards Panarin, solely because of Karlsson’s checkered injury history. Hundreds of hours on the blue line take their toll and aren’t easy on the body. The defenseman has suffered a ruptured Achilles, broken ankle, and damage to the tendons in one of his feet.
A ruptured Achilles and structural damage to feet tendons are injuries that no player every 100% percent comes back from. So much of Karlsson’s game is dependent upon his skating, so damage to his feet is a major red flag. Granted, the Swede has been excellent for the Sharks this year, but signing a soon to be 29 year old to a seven-year deal scares the heck out of me.
Expect the Rangers to have meetings with both players come the summer. Whether or not New York can land either superstar is another discussion.