The New York Rangers have to decide how to handle the contracts for their many young stars
The New York Rangers are entering a world that they haven’t had to deal with before. They have a boatload of young stars who will be coming off Entry Level Contracts (ELC’s) and the team will have to decide what to do with them. While the salary cap will play a huge role in dictating their strategy, they will have some tough decisions to make.
The list of players who will be restricted free agents after the next three seasons is long.
2021-22 RFA’s
- Igor Shesterkin
- Ryan Lindgren
- Filip Chytil
- Julien Gauthier
- Brett Howden
- Libor Hajek
- Pavel Buchnevich (arbitration eligible)
2022-23 RFA’s
- Kaapo Kakko
- Adam Fox
- Tony DeAngelo (arbitration eligible)
- Brendan Lemieux (arbitration eligible)
2022-24 RFA’s
- Alexis Lafrenière
- Morgan Barron
- K’Andre Miller
With all of those players comes tough decisions. There will be several options for the Rangers to pursue. Here are the three options:
- Long term, big money contracts.
- Shorter term deals, for big money
- Bridge deals
It’s important to keep in mind a few things. RFA’s don’t become arbitration eligible until they have four years of pro experience. A players doesn’t become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) until he turns 27 by June 30 or has played in the NHL for seven years.
1. Long term deals, big money
For several years this was the way to go in the NHL. Here are some of the big ones:
- Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues 2015: Eight year deal worth $60 million
- Connor McDavid , Oilers 2017: Eight years worth $100 million. (Highest paid player with an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $12.5 million).
- Jack Eichel, Sabres 2017: Eight years worth $80 million, an AAV of $10 million.
- Leon Draisaitl, Oilers 2017: Eight years worth $68 million, an AAV of $8.5 million.
- Aaron Ekblad, Panthers 2017: Eight years worth $60 million, $7.5 million AAV.
- Thomas Chabot, Senators 2019: Eight years worth $64 million, AAV of $8 million
- Nico Hischier, Devils 2019 : Seven years worth $51 million
- Kyle Connor, Jets 2019: Seven years worth $50 million.
Eight year contracts are only available when a player re-signs with his current team. Otherwise the maximum length is seven years.
The issue with a long term contract signed right out of an ELC is that these deals for the most part, even for eight years, will expire when a player is in his prime. It means that teams will have to make a tough decision about re-signing a player with a new contract that will extend until the player is in his mid to late thirties.
Case in point, McDavid will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in 2026 when he is all of 29 years old. Draisaitl will become a UFA at the same time at the ripe old age of 30.
2. Shorter deals, big money
Some players have been able to get teams to sign them to shorter term contracts. The best known deal is for Auston Matthews. He broke ground when he signed his first contract after his ELC. In February 2019, he signed a five year extension with an AAV of $11.634 million, making him the second highest paid player in the league at the time. Besides the fact that his salary is only $700k per year with the bulk of his pay in signing bonuses, it means he will hit UFA status at age 26.
Other players coming out of their ELC’s who have signed for five or six years include Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, William Nylander and Sebastian Aho.
Those deals afford the teams some cap relief due to their longer term, but it also mean that players can become UFA’s at a younger age. Auston Matthews may be the second highest paid player in the league now, but the sky will be the limit when he becomes a UFA in 2024.
3. Bridge deals
Bridge deals allow a team to reward a player with higher compensation, but still retain control. Coming off an ELC, the player is a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) without arbitration rights. They literally have no choice when it comes it comes to a contract and can be forced to sign for close to the league minimum.
However, a team can decide to give a player a bridge deal for a bigger raise and still have control over the player’s future as he will be an arbitration eligible RFA, but will still be a few years away from UFA status.
An example of a bridge deal for a star player would be Nikita Kucherov of Tampa. After his ELC, he signed for three years at under $5 million a year. When that deal expired at age 26 he then signed an eight year contract with an AAV of $9.5 million that will expire when he is turning 34.
Claude Giroux is another example. After his ELC he signed a three year deal worth $3.75 million a year. He hit pay dirt in his seventh season in the NHL, signing for eight years and $66 million. That deal will expire when he is 34.