New York Rangers: When will the rebuild end?

Who we’re stuck with

• Marc Staal – Staal would be fine if he were making third-line defenseman money, but he’s not. Ryan Lindgren already does all the things that Staal does, but better and more confidently. Every game you see Staal lumbering around, waving his stick and then hang his head in despair after the opposing team dances around him. He’s a physical as a fart in the wind – which is essentially a temporary inconvenience.

– WHAT ARE YOU! The only successful wingers/defensemen in the league

are Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Burns. Brendan Smith, you are neither. You are the healthiest scratch in Rangers fan’s backsides. The wound won’t heal! Your $4.35 million should be going to Ryan Strome on a bridge deal or resigning Lemieux/Fast. You are being paid to sit in box seats and torment fans at this point.

• Brady Skjei – it’s not you, it’s your contract. Skjei has yet to live up to his contract and that’s not his fault. If anything, Glen Sather should have recognized what he had in front of him. Skjei is still only 25 and still has time to prove that a six-year contract was the right call. However, it’s hard to justify the money when you’re playing alongside Tony DeAngelo, Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba. Especially, when your contract could cost us DeAngelo.

• Lias Andersson – this is just a confusing situation from start to finish. Here’s hoping his reputation is salvaged.

• Henrik Lundqvist – “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Batman, The Dark Knight. Igor Shesterkin and Alexander Georgiev are ready. There will never be another King. There will never be another tailored-suit wearing, guitar-playing icon like Henrik Lundqvist. He is everything the New York Rangers could have hoped for. A seventh-round gamble that currently is sixth all-time in wins. Fans can never express their true thanks for all you did, Hank… but for the greater good, you’ve got to go. In order to avoid another year of purgatory, Henrik Lundqvist needs to waive his no movement clause. The Rangers can retain a portion of next year’s salary and Lundqvist can finally pursue that coveted cup. It’s a win-win.

"“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Batman, The Dark Knight."

So who’s left?

There are a  few prospects that the New York Rangers are counting on. They include: Vitali Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller, Yegor Rykov and Nils Lundkvist. We forget about Libor Hajek who looked strong when healthy this season. I’ve also failed to mention Brett Howden, who’s yet to find his niche.

So, if everything went to plan. If Lundqvist waives his no movement clause and the Rangers are able to get through the next year, they’ll be rid of Staal’s and Smith’s contracts, PLUS the $6 million dollars they owe Kevin Shattenkirk due to the buyout.

That’s a combined $16+ million of dead money gone.

Then you add Lundqvist’s $8.5 million and that’s more than $24.5 million in cap room. 

The Seattle expansion

The problem with this timeline is that it directly correlates with the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft. The complete list of rules are here, but they’re identical to the Vegas Expansion draft. The simplified version is this: each team can either protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie or each team can protect: eight skaters and one goalie.

Luckily, all first and second year players are exempt from this, so the majority of our prospect pool is safe. However, this means with both our cap restraints and the Seattle Expansion, the New York Rangers won’t be able to build effectively until after the expansion draft.

This means that our primary goal between now and then is to lose as few prospects and potential core-pieces as possible.