Fansided

A simple, yet memorable off-season for the Rangers

By Daniel Blanda |
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: With the first pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, Alexis Lafreniere from Rimouski of the QMJHL is selected by the New York Rangers at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: With the first pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, Alexis Lafreniere from Rimouski of the QMJHL is selected by the New York Rangers at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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The New York Rangers didn’t make their traditional waves in the off-season via trade or free agency, but instead, the Blueshirts made the necessary moves.

The word “off-season” feels all wrong this year. This year, there wasn’t hockey when there should have been. Then there was hockey when there shouldn’t have been…Not that we’re complaining! No one is complaining, but we should be a month into the 2020-21 season already. We should be walking up from Penn Station and seating ourselves six stories up from street level in the Mecca of hockey, Madison Square Garden, preparing to respond to that canary whistle that signals that it’s time to once again pick apart Denis Potvin.

We should be trekking in from our respective boroughs and overpaying for beer and a night of entertainment. We should be donning our whites and our blues and cheering for our boys in coordinating colors. Hell, these are just a few of a thousand things we should be doing this year, but instead, we’re still stuck in the classic Bill Murray flick, Groundhog Day, waiting for 2020 to end.

What’s also off is how the New York Rangers handled this off-season. Fans have come to expect a far more active excursion. Look no further than the past four years for evidence of this.

Last summer, in 2019, the Rangers won the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes. They traded for Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba and then drafted Kaapo Kakko. Earlier in the year, they traded away hometown heroes, Mats Zuccarello, and Kevin Hayes.

2018 was the year of the infamous letter to the fans. J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh, and Rick Nash were all shipped out before the trade deadline. This in turn brought in a slew of young players that are just now starting to crack the roster. The biggest free agent of 2018 was bringing in Head Coach, David Quinn, from Boston University.

2017 was the arrival of Kevin Shattenkirk and a problematic Tony DeAngelo.  2016 was the awkward acquisition of Eric Staal, the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes, the departure of Keith Yandle, and the trade of Derick Brassard for Mika Zibanejad.

Every year, something major happens around the organization. Each off-season has made headlines in one way or another. Trades and signings abound!

Now, in some ways, this year is similar and in some ways, this year is completely different. Some of which for the right reasons and some for the wrong.

Here’s a look at the positive and questionable moves of the 2020 off-season:

Alexis Lafreniere #11 . (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
Alexis Lafreniere #11 . (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Alexis Lafrenière

The most notable and the most obvious move of the “summer” is the drafting and signing of the future Calder Trophy hopeful, Alexis Lafrenière. There’s very little that hasn’t already been said about the first-ever first-overall selection in the New York Rangers’ history. Lafrenière is a tremendous talent and already finds himself compared with an elite company. The skilled winger is essentially a lock for a roster spot and is expected to make an immediate impact.

Despite it being a sheer stroke of luck, drafting Alexis Lafrenière is the defining addition of the off-season, and had the pandemic stars not aligned just so, it’s highly unlikely that the New York Rangers would have walked away with the first-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Marc Staal

Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Thank you, Detroit. Thank you for giving Marc Staal a home, because he deserves an opportunity to still play… just not for the Rangers.

Marc Staal was once the most beloved defenseman on the New York Rangers roster. He was a shutdown player night in and night out; taking on the opposition’s best shift after shift. However, we are a few years and a couple of injuries removed from that version of Marc Staal. Staal finds himself on the ice far too often in negative scenarios and fans have called for him to be traded for several seasons now. Luckily, Detroit was willing to take on the last year of his contract and Staal was willing to waive his No Movement Clause.

After thirteen years of servitude, it was time to part with the former alternate captain. Cap relief was the biggest need of the off-season and yes, the relief did cost the New York Rangers a second-round pick, but ridding themselves of Marc Staal’s $5.7 million contract allowed for the…

Re-signing of key players

Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo of the New York Rangers (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo of the New York Rangers (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

With the ink just now drying on Ryan Strome’s newest contract, the New York Rangers were able to keep restricted free agents, Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo, and Brendan Lemieux. For the majority of the season, it was speculated that the Rangers wouldn’t be able to bring back all three of these players. However, thanks to Jeff Gorton’s ability to free up cap space, the New York Rangers were able to fulfill the biggest need of the off-season – retention.

Ryan Strome signed for $4.5 million AAV for 2 years.

Tony DeAngelo signed for $4.8 million AAV for 2 years.

Brendan Lemieux signed for $1.55 million AAV for 2 years.

All three of these contracts are team-friendly deals and all three players are coming off of career seasons. Strome has 59 points in 70 games played. Tony DeAngelo had 53 points in 68 games played. Brendan Lemieux had18 points and 111 penalty minutes in 59 games played.

Each of these players provides a different texture to the fabric of this team. Each of these players shows up their fans and all three of them could have demanded more. It remains to be seen if Strome can repeat this year’s performance or if DeAngelo can provide more than just an offensive game or if Lemieux can provide more than a physical presence, but now all three of them have two years to show the Rangers’ front office that they can.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers attempts to avoid contact with Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers attempts to avoid contact with Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Jesper Fast

The five-time recipient of the Players’ Player Award, Jesper Fast, left the New York Rangers after seven seasons to join the Carolina Hurricanes…

With funds being what they are, fans thought Jesper Fast might be the odd man out this off-season. However, when the amount for which he walked was revealed, fans were left scratching their heads. $2 million a year for 3 years? Fans expected he would sign elsewhere for more than that.

$3 million is too steep a price, but $2 million? You have to wonder if there was any negotiation between the front office and Jesper Fast. Did the New York Rangers at least try to bring him back on a team-friendly deal? Did they at least try to get him for $1.75 million for 2 years?

Yes, the New York Rangers are logjammed at the wing. Yes, they are already in the hole in terms of Performance Bonus Penalties. Yes, they had other players to re-sign, but Jesper Fast is a player who’s done a little bit of everything for this franchise. It would have been money well spent, especially when Jeff Gorton spent $1.15 million on…

Jack Johnson

Dec 17, 2019; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson (3) against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2019; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson (3) against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

My heart goes out to Jack Johnson. Johnson has dealt with far more heartache than the average player in the NHL. No person should have to deal with parents like his…

With that aside, why is he here? With so many budding defensemen looking to leap into a pertinent, permanent role, why are we taking on yet another veteran defenseman past his prime? To add to the point, Johnson is now the oldest defenseman, by almost two years,  on the roster at 33-years-old. $1.15 million is a decent price for Johnson, sure, but Libor Hájek, Yegor Rykov, K’Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist, Brandon Schneider, among others will be fighting for a slot in a defensive core that already boasts Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren, Adam Fox, and the deserved scapegoat that is Brendan Smith.

Jack Johnson is a left defenseman, sure. Trouba, Fox, and DeAngelo all play on the right side, but Hájek, Rykov, and Miller naturally play on the left side and Nils Lundkvist has said he is willing to play left as well. Jack Johnson just throws a cog into the defensive wheel.

Johnson was brought in alongside Colin Blackwell (center, 27) Keith Kinkaid (goalie, 31), Anthony Bitetto (left defenseman, 30), and Kevin Rooney (right-wing/center, 27). All four of whom will offer depth to the franchise and should be competing for a roster spot, but none are expected to make a major impact.

Jack Johnson is far and away the most recognizable free agent acquired this off-season. However, comparatively, he’s one of the weakest free agents the New York Rangers have signed in years.

Henrik Lundqvist

It’s the move that everyone knew needed to happen, but it’s simultaneously the move no one wanted to happen. The New York Rangers were left little to no choice but to buy out Henrik Lundqvist, the winningest goaltender in franchise history. Holding onto Hank’s $8.5 million contract would have handcuffed Jeff Gorton; preventing him from bringing back DeAngelo, Strome, and Lemieux.

The move also secured Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev as the official goaltending tandem. The three-headed elephant in the room has officially left the Garden.

Despite the necessity of the buyout, the departure is still just as gut-wrenching. It’s an emotional blow that’s made even more heartbreaking due to King Henrik opting to sign with the divisional rival, the Washington Capitals.

It feels a lot like when you break up with your high school girlfriend… you didn’t want to date her, but your 16-year-old heart can’t stomach seeing her date anyone else either…

Personally, my 29-year-old heart can’t fathom the sight of Henrik Lundqvist wearing these new jaw-dropping pads:

Seeing that Crown Collection 35, not 30, just feels so wrong. Intellectually, it is the most sensible move for the New York Rangers. Emotionally, it’s hard to grasp.

This is where the Rangers, yet again, make headlines. Normally, it’s for the arrival of a big name player, but now, it’s the opposite. It’s the departure of an icon.

Regardless of the outcome and reasoning, 2020 will forever be the year labeled as the Lafrenière/Lundqvist off-season – The King handing off his kingdom to a potential Prince.

T Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
T Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images) /

Long live the King…

Related Story. Great French-Canadians for Lafreniere to follow. light

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