With all eye on the NHL Entry Draft there was some news and rumors about the New York Rangers
Editor’s note: Updated with information about the injury to Lauri Pajuniemi
Larry Brooks of the New York Post stirred the pot once more, reporting that the New York Rangers have not decided on whether they will make a qualifying offer to Restricted Free Agent (RFA) Ryan Strome. In his article, Brooks raises some very legitimate concerns the Rangers may have about going to arbitration.
Brooks’ main point is that if Strome takes the Rangers to arbitration and he is awarded below $4,538,958 the Rangers have no option but to take the deal. Over that number and the Rangers can walk away, making Strome a free agent. He reports that at $4.5 million, the team may feel he is not worth that much.
The hole in his argument is that there is a question of Filip Chytil being ready to take over as the second line center and a paucity of free agent centers. Considering that, the wisest course may be for them to keep Strome for one more year. They have the cap space.
If they do go to arbitration and the award is too rich for the Rangers (and over $4,538,958) they can just walk away. Making a qualifying offer keeps all options open. If they don’t qualify him he just becomes a free agent.
European action
Only one Ranger prospect was in action on Sunday and there was some reason to be concerned about him. Yegor Rykov was in uniform for CSKA’s 4-2 win over Avangard in Moscow. The issue is that Rykov played only 13 shifts for 9:10 minutes of ice time, fewest of any CSKA defenseman. That’s far below the 16 minutes per game he has been averaging this season. There’s no word if he suffered an injury or if it was a coach’s decision. He did see less ice time in his last game against Spartak, playing just over 13 minutes.
We’ll know more on Tuesday when CSKA takes on Dynamo Moscow.
Adam Huska was not in goal for HKM Zvolen in the Slovakian Tipsport League. In the Czech Republic, the game between Olomouc and HC Sparta Prague was postponed due to coronavirus concerns. Defenseman Libor Hajek was reportedly going to play for Olomouc, but has apparently not signed a contract yet and is not working out with the team.
Other than the KHL game on Tuesday, no Ranger prospects will see any action until Wednesday when Traktor resumes play and we will see if Vitali Kravtsov is back in the lineup after missing a game with an undisclosed injury.
In other new, the injury suffered by Lauri Pajuniemi is serious enough for him to miss some games. He was injured in TPS Turku’s 4-2 win over Lukko Saturday when he was kneed by by Lukko’s Anrei Hakulinen just under five minutes into the game.
#NYR prospect Lauri Pajuniemi about his injury:
— Stat Boy Steven 🇳🇱 🇿🇦 🇮🇪 (@StatBoy_Steven) October 5, 2020
"I went straight down to the locker room. I was in a lot of pain and eventually was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I got the results yesterday; a few smaller and one bigger tear in the quad. Recovery time will be 3 weeks" https://t.co/Wu9PVoRYLL
There’s a full Swedish Hockey League schedule on Thursday and by then we may be adding some other prospects to those that we follow if the Rangers draft any European players in the Entry Draft.
Lundqvist latest
Sunday, Henrik Lundqvist sent a clear message to all NHL teams.
I still love to compete. I still love the game and I still want to WIN!
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) October 4, 2020
The hottest rumor is that he will end up with the Washington Capitals. We shall see.