The New York Rangers have some decisions ahead regarding free agency. Some are no-brainers, others will require careful consideration.
When the NHL’s free agent market opens for business, the New York Rangers might be better off staying home.
As you know, Tony DeAngelo, Alexandar Georgiev, Brendan Lemieux, and Ryan Strome are set to become restricted free agents, while Jesper Fast and Greg McKegg appear headed to the unrestricted market.
What nobody knows (including the NHL’s leadership) is what the salary cap will be next season.
This season’s cap is $81.5 million. On March 4, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly suggested the next year’s cap could start at $84 million and perhaps climb to $88 million. Eight days later, the league suspended play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s still not clear whether hockey will resume this season.
There’s been significant talks among NHL, NHLPA and government officials about possibly resuming this season with a 24-team playoff with clubs dispersed in specific cities. Some reports suggest a resolution may come within the next week.
Nonetheless, the NHL reportedly could lose around $1 billion in hockey-related revenue as a result of having to pause play. Consequently, the NHL may keep the cap for next season the same, or even decrease it, to loosen the escrow screws on players. There’s also been rumors of each team receiving as many as two amnesty buyouts if the cap remains unchanged or goes down.
Nothing has been determined. Whatever is decided, the NHL and NHLPA would have to agree on the cap’s final number.
So how does all this affect the Rangers? Right now, nobody knows for certain. They’re projected to have approximately $15 million in space next season, according to CapFriendly.com. That figure could increase if the Blueshirts indeed receive two amnesty buyouts, or in the unlikely event the cap ceiling is raised.
Could buyouts spell the end for longtime Rangers defenseman Marc Staal and franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist? A buyout of “The King” would save the team $3 million next season, while one of Staal would spare $2.1 million. The savings would prove especially beneficial to the Blueshirts if the cap stays the same or is lowered.
DeAngelo and Strome likely will seek at least $5 million per season. The Rangers should give that to them — they’ve earned it. That said, without an increased cap ceiling next season, or dough from buyouts, that would leave $5 million to re-sign Lemieux, Fast, McKegg and Georgiev.
The Rangers could replace Fast and McKegg by promoting Vitali Kravtsov and Steven Fogarty from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. However, that’s a risky proposition.
Fast, who carries a $1.85 cap hit this season, is a versatile defensive forward and very well respected in the dressing room. Thus, it’s not unreasonable to assume he could fetch at least $3 million on the market. Meanwhile, while Kravtsov and Fogarty would combined for a cap hit of about $2 million, neither are proven NHLers.
But supposing that does come to fruition, the Rangers would be left with $3 million for Lemieux and Geiorgiev. Both are RFAs and making under $1 million this season, but they are eligible for arbitration, which could be problematic for the Blueshirts should an arbitrator award absurd money to either.