The odds on which Rangers will be gone next season

100% odds of returning

Anthony DeAngelo – DeAngelo is an arbitration-eligible RFA.  The Rangers traded Brady Skjei to make room for him.  Look for him to re-sign before he reaches arbitration.

75% odds of returning

Brendan Lemieux – Lemieux is another arbitration-eligible RFA.  He took the team to the wire last fall before re-signing for close to the minimum.  As much as he is a David Quinn favorite, he could take a hard line when it comes to a raise and take the team to arbitration. Due to cap constraints, the team cannot give him a big raise, the ball is in his court.

Ryan Strome – Another arbitration-eligible RFA, Strome will be coming off the best season of his career.   Currently making $3.1 million annually, he will want to get paid, probably around $5 million per.  The question is what the Rangers think of Chytil’s and Howden’s ability to move up in the lineup.  If they think Chytil can replace Strome on the second line, they can play hardball with Strome.  If they think they need to buy time, a one year deal may be the answer.  Strome may be willing to sign for a discount to remain Panarin’s center.

50% odds of returning

Phil Di Giuseppe – He can go to arbitration, but that won’t do him any good.  He deserves an  increase over his $700k salary, but not much more.  If he wants to remain a Ranger and is willing to compromise on salary, he will be back. If not, they won’t make a qualifying offer and will let him go.

Darren Raddysh – Raddysh had a solid season with Hartford and is the kind of  player the organization will want to keep to maintain the quality of the Wolf Pack.  He will be 25 and could provide leadership for players like K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist as they begin their careers in Hartford.  Raddysh is an arbitration-eligible RFA who made $730k this season.   With 28 points in 62 games for Hartford, he is worth keeping.

33% odds of returning

Jesper Fast – Fast is an unrestricted free agent who was making $1.85 million.  Coaches and teammates love him, but he is never going to be more than a solid, responsible defensive player who can chip in offensively. The Rangers could certainly use him, but he is 28 years old and should not be making more than $2 million a year.  If he is willing to sign for that and for two years, he may return.

Ryan Gropp – Gropp had a tumultuous year.  He started the season in Hartford, but refused to report when he was sent to Maine in the ECHL and was suspended.  He finally relented and reported, scoring three goals in 10 games.  He was promoted to Hartford and finished the season with four goals and 11 points in 36 games. The 23 year old  was a second round draft pick (41st overall)  in 2015.  The question is whether the team is ready to give up on him as yet another wasted pick.

Brandon Crawley – He spent most of the season with Maine in the ECHL.  Promoted to Hartford late in the season, the 23 year old 2017 4th round pick has shown enough to warrant a qualifying offer as an RFA.

Jean Francois Berube – J.F. Berube is a goalie with NHL experience who could see a return to Hartford as a UFA.  The Rangers could actually sign him to a two year deal and that would make him eligible to be the goalie that the team will need to expose in the 2021-22 Seattle expansion draft.   Adam Huska is destined to be the number one goalie in Hartford next season. The question is what the Rangers will do with UMass-Lowell senior Tyler Wall.

25% odds of returning 

Greg McKegg – Signed for the league minimum $750k, McKegg has been a useful fourth line forward.  There are a dozen players like him the Rangers can sign, maybe they should focus on a center who can win faceoffs?   He played more NHL games this season than any season in his career, so he may want to try to come back.

Gabriel Fontaine – The 2016 6th round draft pick was out most of this season with a shoulder injury.  He just finished the last year of his entry level contract and the team will have to determine if they want to give him a qualifying offer. In three years in Hartford he peaked with 11 goals and 26 points so the odds that he will be qualified are slim.

Steven Fogarty – Fogarty is an unrestricted free agent and although he was the first player called up when Chytil went out with an injury in the last game before play was suspended, there is no doubt that he will look for an opportunity elsewhere.

Boo Nieves – Before this season, many thought Nieves would be one of the first players called up to the NHL.  Instead, he was brought  up for only four games all season and was bypassed numerous times.  Nieves had shown some promise in several opportunities in New York, mostly due to his size, but it appears that the team is ready to let him go.  A qualifying offer is doubtful.

Nick Ebert – A Group 6 UFA, Ebert came to the Rangers in the Vlad Namestnikov deal.  He’s an adequate AHL defenseman and if Hartford wants him back, he could re-sign or do a deal with the Wolf Pack.

Next up, the goners.