New York Rangers: Clarifying the buyout opportunities.

The New  York Rangers are in a serous cap crunch with the signing of Artemi Panarin and the need to pay Jacob Trouba big bucks.   Buyouts have been raised as an option, but there is one problem, the team  probably won’t be able to buy anyone out until next June.

There is one buyout window per year and it happens in June.  It starts on June 15th or 48 hours after the end of the Stanley Cup Finals, whichever is later. The intent is clear, it gives the New York Rangers and all NHL teams a window to put come up with cap space before the Free Agency window opens on July 1.

When the Rangers didn’t buy out Marc Staal, Brendan Smith or Kevin Shattenkirk, the pessmists assumed a Panarin signing wasn’t going to happen.   The Rangers did clear cap space on July 1 by trading Jimmy Vesey, their only other option.

One slim buyout option

There is one way that a team can execute a buyout after the June window.  That  would be if a player takes the Rangers to arbitration.  Once the arbitration award is determined, the team can perform a buyout to get under cap.

There are three Rangers eligible for arbitration, all as restricted free agents.   Jacob Trouba is arbitration eligible, but there is virtually no chance he will go to arbitration as the team’s intent is extend  his contract with a longterm deal.  If Trouba goes to arbitration it would be bad news and it would mean that Trouba and the Rangers were unable to come up with a deal.

Pavel Buchnevich is also arbitration eligible, coming off his entry level contract.  The belief is that he will be offered a bridge deal and the team would not want to risk arbitration.  Buchnevich was third on the team in goals and points and that would sway an arbitrator.

The third player eligible for arbitration is Vinni Lettieri who is not on the major league roster.  One intriguing option for the Blueshirts would be if they promoted him to the 23-man roster and virtually forced him to file for arbitration by making a lowball offer.

An arbitration award to Lettieri would allow the Rangers to buy out one of their players.

Arbitration is ugly

The whole arbitration process in unpleasant and  usually results in hard feelings between the player and the team.  That’s why, despite the fact that dozens of players will file for arbitration, most don’t get that far.

In face-to-face meetings, NHL general managers denigrate the player and diminish his accomplishments to justify their number.  The player makes his best case to justify the salary that he has requested.  It’s an ugly process and can have long-term ramifications.

Jacob Trouba has a long history of fighting with the Winnipeg Jets over his pay.  He took the Jets to arbitration last summer, asked for an annual salary of $7 million.  The Jets countered with $4 million and the award was down the middle for $5.5 million.

If the Rangers want a longterm relationship with Trouba, the last thing they want is arbitration.  The same goes for Buchnevich.  Although he has been mentioned as traded bait, the enigmatic Russian appears poised to break out and an arbitration could impact  his future with the team.

Could it happen?

Over the next few weeks, Jeff Gorton will be pursuing all options in an effort to get under the cap.  If  he unsuccessful, a sign that they want to get another buyout opportunity would be how they treat Lettieri.  If he is moved up to the major league roster, it could be a sign that arbitration is coming.

It’s also worth tracking the Buchnevich contract talks.  Going to arbitration is probably not what the team wants, but it could end up helping Rangers by enabling a buyout.