Rangers free agency: Some depth centers to consider

The New York Rangers could use a depth center who can win faceoffs

There’s been a lot of discussion about the New York Rangers’ need for a second line center, although for now, that job belongs to Ryan Strome.  There could be an in-house solution in Filip Chytil or NCAA star Morgan Barron, but after that pair, there are not a ton of prospects in the pipeline.

Brett Howden appears to be destined for a third or fourth line center role or even as a bottom six winger and Greg McKegg is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) who may not be in the Rangers’ plans.  Patrick Khodorenko and Justin Richards signed contracts out of college, but are longshots to make the team.

The bottom line on this free agent class is there is no clear cut second line center available.  That means if the Rangers are going to go out and acquire one it will have to be by trade.  We’ve heard the names: Matt Duchene, Tyler Johnson, Vincent Trochek, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and even Steven Stamkos.  We’ll leave it to Jeff Gorton to see if he can pry one of these players away in a trade and instead we’ll focus on a free agent target, a third or fourth line center who can win a faceoff.

Erik Haula, Florida – The 29 year old Haula is the name most mentioned and he checks off all of the boxes for the Rangers. He is a solid, defensively responsible center who would be at home in a bottom six role.   What’s most impressive is his lifetime faceoff winning percentage of 51.3%.   Last season he won 54.1% of his draws, a number no Ranger has achieved in years.  The issue is he will be highly sought after and if he ends up asking for more than $4 million annually, he could be out of reach.

Mikael Granlund (not to be confused with Backlund), Nashville – Granlund is really the only free agent center who could be considered for a top six role on the Rangers.  At 28 years old, he is a lot like Ryan Strome, though he has been doing as well or better than Strome for longer.  What Granlund gets in free agency could be the target that Strome will look for.  If the Rangers think Granlund is a better option than Strome, they could sign Granlund and let Strome walk after arbitration.

Kyle Turris, Nashville – Turris was bought out by the Predators so he may be available at a bargain rate with a lot to prove.  A disappointment in Nashville, he is solid on the faceoff dots and has been a 20 goal scorer three times.  Despite the fact that he has played 12 years in the NHL, he is still only 31 years old

Brad Richardson, Arizona – Richardson is 35 years old, but is a whiz on faceoffs  and he kills penalties.   He is also one year away from scoring 19 goals. He was paid $1.4 million by the Coyotes so he won’t break the bank.

Derek Grant, Philadelphia – A seven year NHL veteran, Grant is 30 years old and coming off a season when he scored 15 goals for Anaheim and the Flyers.  He has never won fewer than 50% of his draws and he played for the league minimum $700k last season.  Even with a big raise, he is affordable and a decent option .

Lucas Wallmark, Florida – Not tendered a qualifying offer, Wallmark is a steady defensive center who plays a physical game, is excellent on faceoffs and is still only 25 years old.  At that age, he could be a long term solution for the Blueshirts.

Andreas Athanasiou, Edmonton – Any team that signs Athanasiou will be rolling the dice. Will they get the center who scored 30 goals two years ago and terrorized the opposition in the process with his speed or will they get the player who slumped to 11 goals and was an unbelievably bad -46?  Take the plus/minus with a grain of salt.  He was -45 playing for Detroit,  the worst team in the league.  In nine games with Edmonton he was a -1.    He is still only 26 and has quite an upside if he can rebound.  The key question is coming off a $3 million salary, what will it take to sign him.  He was not qualified by the Oilers, making him a UFA.

Tomas Nosek, Vegas – Nosek is a 28 year old center who has killed penalties while contributing offensively for the Golden Knights.  He made $1 million last season and just didn’t fit on the Vegas cap strapped roster.  He is really good on faceoffs, with a 62% winning percentage two years ago.

Greg McKegg, Rangers – McKegg didn’t do anything that would cause the Rangers to not sign him.  He was a reliable bottom six center who did a decent job on faceoffs, though in limited ice time he wasn’t a very productive offensive player.  He’s a known commodity and wouldn’t be looking for much of an increase on his $750k salary.

The Rangers don’t have the cap space to throw a lot of money at a bottom six center. The most likely scenario is they explore a trade and see what the free agent market holds, salary-wise  There are enough depth centers available that one should be available if a trade doesn’t come through and they stick with Strome.