New York Rangers: What cap space?

What to do?

Jeff Gorton has already started clearing cap space.  No qualifying offers will be made to RFA’s Fredrik Claesson, Chris Bigras.  Julius Bergman is going back to Sweden.  Rob O’Gara and John Gilmour are gone as unrestricted free agents.   Unfortunately, none of these moves increase the available dollars, they just guarantee that dollars won’t be spent.

The rumors that the Rangers have been shopping Jimmy Vesey to Buffalo and Vlad Namestnikov to San Jose may have some substance. Buyouts are never the first preference, but if it is the only way to clear cap space they may have to do it and by the end of this week.

The drastic move would be trading some important pieces of the puzzle.  Chris Kreider is a prime candidate and would save the team $4.6 million and even more after he hits UFA status next year.

Panarin is the key

The Rangers brass should be meeting with Artemi Panarin and his representatives this week.  If they come out of that meeting with the feeling that Panarin could be a Ranger for $10-11 million per year, they would have to find the money to pay him.

Trading Kreider, Namestnikov and Vesey  would save the team $10.9 million, enough to pay Panarin.  However, they would be left with a top heavy lineup of forwards and would be relying on two rookies (Kakko and Kravtsov).   In other words, with injuries we could be seeing a lot of Tim Gettinger and Steve Fogarty in this scenario.

Time is tight. The buyout window ends June 30.  The free agency window begins on July 1.  If deals are in the offing, it would make sense to do them before the free agency window opens.  The last thing Jeff Gorton needs is to be desperate to unload salary, knowing that savvy general managers can take advantage.

“Weaponizing” the salary cap

There is a new expression making the rounds.  It’s called “weaponizing” the salary cap and was on display when the Carolina Hurricanes, loaded with cap space, took advantage of a desperate Toronto team and fleeced them in the Patrick Marleau deal.

If you missed it, the Maple Leafs got a sixth round draft pick in 2020 from Carolina.  In exchange, the Hurricanes got Marleau and his $6.25 million salary along with a conditional first round pick and seventh round pick in 2020.  The condition is if the pick ends up in the top ten, it defers to 2021.  It’s unlikely considering the talent on the Maple Leafs, but it could be a lottery pick in two years.  Yes, the Hurricanes got Marleau, first round pick and a seventh round pick in exchange for a sixth round pick. And the Maple Leafs now have money to pay Mitch Marner.

The Hurricanes are not the only team to take advantage of cap-troubled teams.  To be honest, the Rangers took advantage of Winnipeg’s cap issues to acquire Jacob Trouba, so what goes around comes around.

Picture this.  The Rangers sign Panarin to a multi-year $11 million contract. They didn’t execute any buyouts so in order to get under the cap in 2019-20, they have to shed $10 million in salary.  You can bet that some NHL general manager will be more than happy to take Chris Kreider off the Rangers’ hands along with one of the team’s young prospects in exchange for a second round draft pick.

Then again, Gorton could luck into a deal similar to the one Tampa did with Vancouver.  The Canucks took J.T. Miller‘s bloated $5.25 million contract off Tampa’s books, enabling them to extend All-Star Brayden Point.  For some reason, the Canucks gave a desperate Lightnings team a third round pick in 2019 and  a conditional first round pick in 2020 that could become a lottery pick, along with minor league goalie Marek Mazanec.

All Ranger fans have to be asking how J.T. Miller became so valuable after having the worst NHL season of his career.

Russian roulette

Managing to the salary cap is a game of Russian roulette for NHL general managers.  The contract you give out today, will haunt you in a few years.  While Marc Staal‘s contract was a Glen Sather deal, it was Jeff Gorton who signed Brendan Smith and Kevin Shattenkirk to contracts that the team has regretted ever since.  Henrik Lundqvist‘s seven-year $59 million contract looks awful now, but in 2013, locking in the King for the rest of the decade was good business.

One thing is for sure, what the Rangers do in the summer of 2019 will be felt In the summer of 2022 and for years to come.