Busy times ahead for Jeff Gorton and the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers will make decisions in the next week that will dictate their future

The silly season is upon us.  In the age of COVID-19 it means it’s October and not June and everything is accelerated.  In a period of four days the New York Rangers will be making decisions that will affect the future of this team for the next decade.  Fans needs to monitor their Twitter alerts and website notifications as anything could happen.  It’s going to be a wild ride.

Here are the key dates and what to look for.

Tuesday-Wednesday,  October 6-7: NHL Entry Draft

This is as big a draft for the New York Rangers as any in their history.  With the top pick overall they are expected to draft consensus top pick, left winger Alexis Lafreniere.  There is some discussion of them trading the top pick, but the odds of that happening are slim.

The Blueshirts also own the 22nd overall pick in the first round, though the possibility exists that they could swap that pick as well.

The Rangers don’t have  a second round pick, but have eight more picks over the last five rounds.

The first round will be televised live on NBCSN on Tuesday, October 6 from 7-1030pm.  Rounds 2-7 will be televised on the NHL Network on Wednesday, October 7 beginning at 1130am.  Live streams will also be available from different sources.

Wednesday, October 7: Deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to RFA’s (5pm EST)

While in most seasons this is a foregone conclusions it’s a different story this year.  With the flat salary cap, it’s widely expected that some Restricted Free Agents (RFA’s) will not be qualified, making them free agents.   This could especially apply to RFA’s who are arbitration eligible.

At any rate, the Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) pool could swell if a number of RFA’s are not given qualifying offers.  All NHL general managers are watching this carefully.

As for the Rangers, here are the players who are due qualifying offers:  Brandon Crawley, Tony DeAngelo, Phil DiGiuseppe, Gabriel Fontaine, Alexandar Georgiev, Ryan Gropp, Dawson Leedahl, Brendan Lemieux, Darren Raddysh and Ryan Strome.

Thursday, October 8: Buyout window closes

The Rangers bought out Henrik Lundqvist and traded Marc Staal, so the only buyout candidate left is Brendan Smith.   The Rangers interest here is that there could be players who will be bought out who could be of interest to them.

Some buyout candidates that fit that profile would be Tampa’s Braydon Coburn if the Rangers are looking for a veteran left-shot defenseman who has won a Cup or Jay Beagle, a top faceoff man that Vancouver may cut loose. Olli Maata has been mentioned as a Blackhawks buyout option and is a veteran lefty defenseman.    Two former Rangers defensemen who are possible buyout candidates are Anton Stralman is a Florida candidate and John Moore in Boston.  Stralman is a righthanded shot who could be an option if the Blueshirts trade Tony DeAngelo.   Moore is a left defenseman who could provide depth with the departure of Marc Staal.

Friday, October 9:  Free agency window opens (12 noon EST)

By October 9, the Rangers roster could be radically different from what it is today.  The trade market will be hot leading up to free agent frenzy and any Ranger UFA signings will be determined by the trade market prior to the UFA window opening.

Depending on how the team deals with its key RFA’s will dictate how much money Jeff Gorton has to spend on free agents.  The Rangers will be in the market for a left handed defenseman to partner with Jacob Trouba. They may be looking for a second line center or a depth center who can win faceoffs.  Don’t forget that they need to decide if they want to re-sign Jesper Fast and for how much.

The top center UFA’s include Florida’s Erik Haula and Arizona’s Carl Soderberg.   Defenseman include St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo (don’t hold your breath), Calgary’s T.J. Brodie and Erik Gustafsson, Washington’s Brenden Dillon and Ottawa’s Ron Hainsey.

Here’s one to ponder.  If the Rangers do trade Tony DeAngelo, would Kevin Shattenkirk consider a return to New York for  a year or two?  He’s won a Stanley Cup and could be the bridge to Nils Lundkvist.  He’s also costing the Rangers over $6 million against their salary cap so he might be willing to settle for the league minimum.  Just wondering.

Saturday, October 10: Deadline for RFA’s to elect arbitration

If the Rangers haven’t come to an agreement on extensions for Georgiev, DeAngelo, Strome, Lemieux, and Di Giuseppe they will file for arbitration.  That doesn’t mean that they will actually go to arbitration as most contracts are settled before the hearing.  Last summer, Pavel Buchnevich signed his two year deal three days before his hearing was scheduled

Arbitration hearings are scheduled to begin on October 20. If any player files for arbitration, it does open a second buyout window for the Rangers.   One note, it there is an arbitration hearing and an award made, the team has no obligation to pay the player.  In that case, he becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent.   That is a scenario that is possible with the salary cap issues facing many NHL teams.

It’s important to remember that the trade window is open throughout this time period.  It should be especially active in the next week as teams position themselves before the Entry Draft.  While the Rangers could keep their number one pick and draft Alexis Lafreniere, there is nothing to keep them from trading his rights to another team after they pick him.

Bob McKenzie of TSN reported that the Rangers had “called” the Buffalo Sabres about Jack Eichel’s availability.  Ranger fans can dream about getting him, but it would cost them the top overall pick and that probably makes it a non-starter.

In the meantime, trade speculation remain hot when it comes to players like Tony DeAngelo, Pavel Buchnevich and to a lesser degree, Ryan Strome.  Most of those questions should be answer by Tuesday night when the draft begins.

It’s a fun time to be a hockey fan and a nerve wracking time to be a player who could find a new home next season.