New York Rangers: Why a reunion with former friends likely isn’t in the cards

A pair of former New York Rangers, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, are expected to become unrestricted free agents this July 1st. A second stint with the blue shirts is unlikely.

Part of what makes sports so great from the fan perspective is getting to watch young players grow into who they are. While athletes have lives outside of the sport they play, fans are often introduced to a raw talent that’s either a teenager or in their early 20s and get to watch them grow up before their very eyes.

In the case of the New York Rangers, there are few fanbases more loyal and dedicated. Look at the reverence given to former players like Adam Graves or Mark Messier more than a decade after the last time either laced up a pair of skates and took the ice at Madison Square Garden.

For all of its warts, the Rangers are a family which includes those of us who watch and wait with bated breath 82 games per year and if things go well, more than that.

So, I understand the inclination to reunite with former Rangers Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes this summer. Bringing both forwards back into the fold with the addition of the second overall pick and Vitali Kravtsov is a tantalizing proposition. In fact, it’d likely put New York in the mix for a playoff spot come next spring.

There’s plenty to like about both players as the Rangers’ organization knows first hand. Even if Hayes struggled to find a place in the Winnipeg Jets lineup after being traded up north, the Boston College product has proven his ability to be an impact player with New York.

Even more encouraging, Zuccarello bounced back nicely from the hand injury he suffered in his first game as a member of the Dallas Stars. Through 11 games the Norwegian has recorded nine points while playing on a line with Tyler Seguin.

The cap situation

The single biggest reason a reunion likely isn’t in the cards is New York’s cap situation. Now, at face value, the Rangers have around $20 million in cap space for the upcoming season but that doesn’t account for restricted free agent signings. With five RFAs in need of contracts, the number will likely be closer to $13 million or so.

If the rumors are true that the Rangers’ front office has designs on going big game hunting this summer for a premier free agent like Artemi Panarin or Erik Karlsson, that leaves the team in a tight financial situation. Granted, it’s possible that the team can make more cap space through trade or a buyout, but that requires an additional step.

While adding Zuccarello or Hayes back to the bright lights would solve one issue in terms of forward depth, it would create another. The Rangers were a successful team this decade when the team had the ability to roll with four balanced lines of above average to very good players, but never anyone who was elite.

While it’s plausible that Kravtsov or the second overall pick could be this elite talent, that will likely take some time. So, opting for the B+ talent puts the team back in the same position it was recently in, but with an extremely young core. Sure, two very good players are preferable to no elite players, but it does put the Rangers into that soggy middle of the league.

No team ever wants to miss the postseason by a couple of points for two reasons. First of all, missing out on the tournament for Lord Stanley’s Cup defeats the purpose of playing an 82 game season. Second, it means that the team is picking in the mid or early teens.

There is more incentive to bottom out and totally stink to have a better chance at the elite talent in the lottery instead of going for the playoffs and just falling short.

The Rangers could do worse this summer than bringing in Hayes and Zuccarello for around a combined $13 million this summer, but it’s unlikely for a variety of reasons.