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Centers in their walk years the Rangers could pursue

By Steve Paulus

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers skates against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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SUNRISE, FL – NOVEMBER 16: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers blocks the view of Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist # 30 of the New York Rangers seconds later Evgenii Dadonov #63 scored a goal at the BB&T Center on November 16, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Rangers 4-3. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – NOVEMBER 16: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers blocks the view of Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist # 30 of the New York Rangers seconds later Evgenii Dadonov #63 scored a goal at the BB&T Center on November 16, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Rangers 4-3. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

The cream of the crop

There are a handful of centers out there who are entering their walk years and fit the Rangers’ profile for a top center.   Unfortunately, most are non-starters or would be incredibly expensive and the asking price would be too much for the Blueshirts.   We’ll start with the best of the lot.

ALEKSANDER BARKOV, 26 – FLORIDA PANTHER

The numbers:  Barkov is going into the last year of a five-year deal he signed in 2016 that pays him an AAV of $5.9 million.

The facts:  Barkov was the second over all pick in the 2013 draft and is the Florida Panthers’ top center. He is a 30 goal scorer, outstanding on faceoffs and he turns 26 in September.  Add the fac that he just won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as best defensive forward in the NHL and he is everything an NHL team wants from a first line center.

He is the heir apparent to Patrice Bergeron’s iron grip on the Selke Trophy and is a crucial piece of the Panthers who finished one point behind in the Presidents’ Trophy race. At 6’3″, 213 pounds, he has size and strength and is very “hard to play against.”   He is the real deal.

The odds: The Panthers cannot afford to lose Barkov, but they are in a very bad cap situation.  They have four UFA’s and six arbitration eligible RFA’s going into next season and depending on how those negotiations end up, they could be in cap hell for 2022-23 when Barkov is up. That said, it will take a huge haul to pry Barkov from Florida and the question for Chris Drury is whether he would surrender players deemed untouchable like Lafreniere, Kravtsov, Kakko, Miller or Lindgren for a stud like Barkov.

TOMAS HERTL, 27 – San Jose Sharks

The numbers:  Hertl is going into the last year of a four-year deal with an AAV of $5.625.

The facts:  Hertl has been in the NHL for eight seasons with Rangers fans remembering how he toasted Martin Biron for four goals in one game in his rookie season. He’s had some serious knee injury issues, tearing his ACL and PCL  in both his right and left knees in two different seasons, requiring surgery.

He scored 35 goals in his best season and has been well over 50% on faceoffs for the last six seasons. He turns 28 years old in November and is the Sharks’ number one center. He was mostly healthy this season and finished with 19 goals and 43 points in 50 games.

The odds: Ordinarily the odds of the Rangers having a shot at a player like Tomas Hertl would be slim to none, but after missing the playoffs, the Sharks look to be going into rebuild mode.  If they are willing to trade him, it may make more sense to wait until the trade deadline next season, but if Chris Drury is willing to surrender top notch talent, there could be a blockbuster deal to be made.   One issue that Hertl has a modified no trade clause and would have to okay any deal.

The fact that New York and San Jose are 3,000 miles apart also makes the Blueshirts a more likely trade partner than any team in the Western Conference.  They would have to assured that they Hertl would sign a long term extension in order for any deal to work.

NAZEM KADRI, 31 – Colorado Avalanche

The numbers: Kadri is going into the final year of a six-year deal he signed with Toronto with an AAV of $4.5 million.

The facts:

He is not a youngster, turning 31 just before the start of next season, but he has not suffered any serious injuries and having been suspended for 27 games, that almost exceeds the number of games he has missed due to injury in his career.

The odds: VINCENT TROCHECK, 28 – Carolina HurricanesThe numbers:The numbers: 

He had his best season on faceoffs, winning 56% of his draws and he has been above 50% for the last five years. He turns 28 in July so he is in his prime.

The odds:   SEAN COUTURIER, 28 – Philadelphia Flyers

No need to get into the details about Couturier. He’s incredibly important to an archrival.  No chance of a deal.

PATRICE BERGERON, 36 – Boston Bruins

Bergeron is the heart and soul of the Bruins and won’t be going anywhere.  Disregard the fact that the Bruins let Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug go.  If they part ways with Bergeron, it won’t be until he is a free agent in 2022.

Any of these centers could fill the hole for the Rangers on their top two lines and provide that all important ability to win faceoffs.  There are some centers going into their walk year who may not be a top six center, but brings the ability to win draws and improve the bottom six.

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