Examining the Rangers’ future cap situation

Mika Zibanejad #93, Chris Kreider #20, Ryan Strome #16 and Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Mika Zibanejad #93, Chris Kreider #20, Ryan Strome #16 and Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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QUEBEC CITY, QC – OCTOBER 18: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of the Rimouski Oceanic skates prior to his QMJHL hockey game at the Videotron Center on October 18, 2019 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images)
QUEBEC CITY, QC – OCTOBER 18: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of the Rimouski Oceanic skates prior to his QMJHL hockey game at the Videotron Center on October 18, 2019 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images)

Alexis Lafrenière

This is where we might be taking a little bit of a leap of faith, but if we have to speculate on what kind of salary Lafrenière might be making in the future, let’s take a look at some former first overall picks.  The 2016 first overall pick, Auston Matthews, netted himself a pretty penny when his ELC was up.  The Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a five year, $58,170,000 deal.

And if we could take a second to compare him to arguably the best player in all of hockey right now, Connor McDavid scored a nice eight year, $100,000,000 contract making him the highest paid player in the NHL with a $12.5 million annual cap hit.    Do with those numbers what you will, I personally would like to see Lafrenière play his first few years in the NHL before I predict what he might be making.

So what do we think, Rangers fans? Is it possible for the Rangers to fit all of these guys in under a cap? Who do we possibly see testing free agency or who could we see get traded in order to clear some cap space?  Let me know what kind of contracts you’d like to see tendered to these players in the comments below!