New York Rangers: Taking on Ryan Kesler as a salary dump makes sense

The Anaheim Ducks announced that forward Ryan Kesler underwent hip surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2019-2020 season. The New York Rangers should consider taking on his cap hit for an asset or draft pick.

Not too long ago, center Ryan Kesler was amongst the best defensive specialists in the entire league. The former Vancouver Canuck would draw the toughest assignments and play the game with an edge that drove the other team crazy. Now, at age 34, the miles caught up to Kesler and he’s struggled to live up to the contract he signed several years ago.

Now, you may be wondering where the New York Rangers come into this. After all, why would a young and rebuilding team consider taking on a player in the twilight of his career facing a grueling rehab process to ever even see the ice at the NHL level again?

It’s pretty straightforward, Kesler has three years remaining on his contract at $6.875 million per season. The Anaheim Ducks are right up against next year’s projected cap ceiling of roughly $83 million and would likely pay a steep price to make the Kesler cap hit go away. As a team caught in a state of flux, Anaheim desperately needs a roster overhaul but can’t afford to do so.

This is a golden opportunity for the Rangers to acquire a quality piece in exchange for eating Kesler’s cap hit. Before you reach for that barf bag, let me lay out a similar scenario that actually happened three years ago.

Bryan Bickell and the Hurricanes

Three years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks were suffering the ill effects of winning multiple Stanley Cups in the same decade. There always comes a point that an organization needs to prioritize certain pieces over others. In the salary cap world of the NHL, teams have to part with players they really don’t want to because of an arbitrary number that the league determines.

The Blackhawks awarded Bickell a four-year deal worth $4 million per year following the Stanley Cup win in the 2013 lockout-shortened season. But, general manager Stan Bowman quickly realized that he wouldn’t be able to keep Bickell long-term and maintain a competitive roster because other pieces were due for pay raises.

So, to free up Bickell’s cap space, Bowman sent the forward along with prospect Teuvo Teravainen to the Hurricanes for a second and third-round pick.

For taking on Bickell’s deal, placing him on long-term injured reserve, the Hurricanes were rewarded with a talented prospect. Now at 24-years-old, Teravainen is a blossoming star who registered 76 points this past season and plays heavy minutes in the top six for a team that made the Eastern Conference final.

Kesler and now

If the Rangers were to take on Kesler’s deal as part of a larger package, they’d be granted the long-term injured reserve cap exception. If New York were to keep Kesler on the books, they’d be allowed to go over the cap according to Capfriendly.com. This would not be a decision to be made lightly, in a year, Kesler very well may want to try and play again come the 2020-2021 season.

Then, New York would be in a sticky salary situation right when the organization should be ready to re-enter the conversation of a contender. Yet, if the assets were tantalizing enough, it could very well be worth the risk. The magic of prospects is their low cap hit from entry-level contracts.

There is a risk associated with any trade, this type of salary dump is rare in the NHL and far more common in the NBA. The Rangers could afford to bury Kesler if and only if the return is good enough. A top six forward like Teravanien would need to be the starting point and even then, that seems light.

Bickell was only making $4 million per year, Kesler makes $2.7 million more per year. Making this type of move would be a signal to the rest of the league that the Rangers are still building and not ready to compete yet. To be frank, there is no problem with that either, building too big too fast is a real risk on the table.

If the Rangers could finagle a top six forward or top four defensemen out of the Ducks for eating Kesler’s deal, it’d be smart business.