When it comes to pending free agents, all of the New York Rangers chatter has been about Chris Kreider. It’s Jesper Fast who is worth keeping.
Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast are the three veteran New York Rangers who will become unrestricted free agents on July 1, 2020. While there is reason to expect Kreider and Namestnikov to find new homes by that time, there are some excellent reasons that the Rangers should extend the versatile Swede.
Fast is coming off a three-year contract that paid him $1.85 million per year. A new deal for the same term with a modest salary hike should be enough to retain him and the team should move sooner than later in getting it done. It’s a very simple argument and when you look at the facts, it’s hard to dispute the fact that Fast should stay a Blueshirt.
Age and durability
Fast is still young. He turns 28 years old in December and he is durable despite playing a physical game. He has visited the injured reserve list twice in five years and although he has missed some time with miscellaneous injuries, he can be counted on to play.
It’s a fact that Fast will play through injuries. Last season, in January he broke his thumb and suffered ligament damage in his hand, but played through the injury for almost two months before the team shut him down with eight games left in the season.
I’ll say that again. Fast labored for almost two months with torn ligaments and a broken thumb. He needed surgery to repair the damage. Did we know it? Of course not. In an age when a baseball player sits for weeks when he feels a twinge in his side, Fast is a throwback.
Versatility
When it comes to versatility, there is no one on the team who is more valuable then Fast. In his time with the Rangers he has played on all four lines in all situations. Whether as an ill-suited top line winger or a top line penalty killer or as a shutdown defensive fourth liner, coach David Quinn can count on Fast to fill any role.
While no one will describe Fast as a sniper, he has shown that he can score with a career high of 13 goals two seasons ago. One thing he can do is hit. He is consistently one of the leading Rangers when it comes to hits and he even led the team two seasons ago.
Fast is also a right handed shot. For a couple years he was the joined by Mika Zibanejad as the only right handed forwards on the team. Last season he was joined by Ryan Strome and this year the team will boast four right handed shooters with the addition of Artemi Panarin. Still, as a righty, Fast has value and provides balance to the team.
But Jesper Fast brings something else to the team that cannot be measured in terms of goals, assists, Corsi or shooting percentage.