Rangers’ front office make the tough but right decision

This is why the New York Rangers pay their front office the big bucks.

We have officially reached the end of an era in New York Rangers history, with reports suggesting that Henrik Lundqvist will be bought out by the franchise Wednesday.

And those reports have now been confirmed with the Rangers making it official that they have bought out the final year of Lundqvist’s contract.

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It is hardly a surprise given where this organization is in terms of being in the final stages of a well-executed rebuild, coupled with the fact that the future is already set between the pipes with Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev.

But, make no doubt about it, this is an incredibly sad day in the history of this storied franchise and it isn’t the fairy tale ending to his Broadway tale that Lundqvist deserved.

Sixth all-time in wins in the National Hockey League with 459, the future Hall of Famer carved out quite the resume at Madison Square Garden.

Three trips to the Eastern Conference Final, one Stanley Cup Final appearance and the holder of a plethora of franchise records, all that is missing for Lundqvist is a Stanley Cup.

It is a tragedy that this franchise icon won’t be rewarded for his years of service in New York with a richly-deserved ride up the Canyon of Heroes.

Instead, this organization will be ready to throw the party to end all parties when Lundqvist is ready to have his No.30 jersey retired and raised to the ceiling.

He will be treated like the true King he is whenever he returns to New York, and MSG will be forever known as the Kingdom that Hank helped build.

However, for now, both team and player will take a step into the unknown with Lundqvist officially an unrestricted free agent.

Who knows what the coming weeks will hold but Lundqvist will now have the chance to pick a team that best offers him the chance to finally get his hands on the Stanley Cup.

And any contender would be lucky to have him.

Of course, retirement could be an option but Lundqvist earned the right to decide his own fate, whatever that may be.

He also earned the right not to play third fiddle on a team still navigating its way through a rebuild, becoming a mere afterthought behind the new heir apparent in Shesterkin and his trusty backup in Georgiev.

That’s why the front office, led by President John Davidson and General Manager Jeff Gorton, made the right decision.

Davidson, a former Rangers goalie himself, seems to be able to relate to players incredibly well and he no doubt played a key role in keeping Lundqvist informed and content when all around him was changing.

Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if Lundqvist already has a role upstairs with the Rangers tailor made for him once he does decide to hang up his Hall of Fame bound skates.

But, for now, Davidson and Gorton had to do what was in the best interests of the long-term health of this franchise, and they did that.

By first trading veteran defenseman Marc Staal to the Detroit Red Wings over the weekend and then buying out Lundqvist, the Rangers have propelled themselves into cap space heaven.

In what will be a year where plenty of teams will be in salary cap hell due to the flat clap for the 2020-21 season and perhaps beyond, the Blueshirts will have a projected $23,091,867 in cap space according to CapFriendly.

Not only will that allow the Blueshirts the opportunity to sign Georgiev and some of their other pending free agents to new deals, like Jesper Fast, but it will also give Gorton and Davidson the chance to strengthen this roster.

They will of course gain a generational talent in Alexis Lafreniere with the No.1 overall pick, but this roster has some flaws including a lack of toughness and a need for a proven NHL performer on the left-side of the blueline.

That added cap space will now give the Rangers the flexibility to go out in free agency and add a Patrick Maroon or a Craig Smith to the bottom of their lineup, while they also have the draft capital to be able to go and acquire a top-four left-shot defenseman in a trade as they did with Jacob Trouba last off-season.

All in all, the front office are tasked with making cold, ruthless decisions devoid of any emotion in order to protect the long-term health of the franchise.

That’s why they get paid the big bucks.

And, while today will be a sad day for all New York Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist fans, this was absolutely the right decision to make.

Even if it was incredibly difficult and gut-wrenching to pull the trigger on.