Jeff Gorton gave himself some trade chips

NY Rangers’ general manager Jeff Gorton wisely signed his key RFAs to bridge deals.

Recently, the New York Rangers completed resigning their restricted free agents by coming to terms with Brendan Lemieux. With the league’s finances being a huge question mark because of COVID-19 and there being a flat-cap for as long the next three years, General Manager Jeff Gorton didn’t shell out big bucks for any of the RFAs and instead went with bridge deals. In all of these players’ cases, this was the right move. And, more importantly, Jeff Gorton has flexibility and potential trade chips for the next two seasons. Here they are:

Pavel Buchnevich

The enigmatic Russian winger has tantalized the New York Rangers with his potential. When Gorton signed him to his bridge deal at the end of the 2017-2018 season, he had no idea that the world would be turned upside down by a pandemic. Fortunately, his cap hit and looming RFA status make him an attractive trade chip to another team. Trading him at the deadline for a hard-nosed winger with term is a possibility if the Rangers aren’t knocking at the playoffs’ door.

Tony DeAngelo

Subjectively, I’d love the Rangers to keep Tony DeAngelo. Objectively, I’m not sure it makes sense if he continues to be used as a third-pair defender and power-play specialist at his cap hit. Therefore, Gorton was wise to only go two years with him. This allows DeAngelo to prove that his breakout year isn’t a fluke, and the Rangers to possibly flip him for a top-six forward–most likely a center, depending on other factors–if they feel they can move on from ADA.

Ryan Strome

I won’t waste ink on how Ryan Strome is coming off a career year with Panarin as his flank. But, I will say that Gorton gave Strome a moderate-risk, high-reward two-year contract that rewards Strome for his gaudy numbers, while also avoiding Strome from becoming a long-term contract liability.

Expect Strome to be a trade deadline or off-season trade chip if the Rangers aren’t a contender and if Filip Chytil proves he’s ready to be a top-six staple for years to come. I’d imagine Gorton would be targeting future picks–or a contract-controlled, up-and-coming center, depending on if DeAngelo is moved and what that return is–in a Strome deal to keep the pipeline flowing.

What complicates a Strome trade–and ADA, for that matter–is the looming expansion draft. Teams may not be willing to give up assets for a player they may lose during the draft. But, if there’s a rebuilding team–like Ottawa–that may not have too many of their core players they risk losing, Strome can find himself with a new home.

Brendan Lemieux

Brendan Lemieux is one of the few roster players that plays with the sandpaper the New York Rangers are looking to have. But, his penchant for dumb penalties has hindered his value. Also, his offensive contributions–six goals, 12 assists, 18 points–leave a bit to be desired. If Lemieux can emerge as a 10-15 goal-scoring agitating winger, he’s not going anywhere. If not, he may be moved for a future late-round draft pick.

Alexandar Georgiev

If a team needs a number-one goalie, they may think Alexandar Georgiev has that potential. With a career save percentage at .913%, and the NHL average being at .910% the past two seasons, Georgiev’s ceiling being as high as a number one is debatable. But, the New York Rangers have a slew of goaltending prospects in the pipeline, so they may decide to move him by the end of his second year anyway to free up cap space and allow either Tyler Wall or Adam Huska to take over as the backup to Igor Shesterkin.

The New York Rangers find themselves in a great position for the next few years. They can flip any of these assets if necessary to address roster holes or gain draft capital if they choose, or they can keep them all and hope that all of these players are motivated by the show-me bridge deals. Either way, Jeff Gorton has done a good job here of setting himself by thinking both short-term and long-term with these contracts.