Three deals in the last week and how they impact the Rangers
By Steve Paulus
There have been three transactions in the last week that could be significant for the New York Rangers as Chris Drury works his way through his to do list. In the first deal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins signed an eight year extension with the Edmonton Oilers. In the second deal, the Nashville Predators traded Victor Arvidsson to the Los Angeles Kings. In the third, the Minnesota Wild signed Joel Eriksson Ek to an eight year extension.
With the season almost over, we are about to get into the “silly season” when trades will be made and contracts will be signed. These three transactions give us a hint at what is to come.
The Nugent-Hopkins contract
This deal raised some eyebrows around the league as it appears that the center left money on the table to sign long term with the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins signed for the maximum eight years and $41 million, for an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $5.125 million. Nugent-Hopkins turned 28 in April and that means he is locked in until he is 36 years old.
The impact on the Rangers is with their dealings with Mika Zibanejad. Nugent-Hopkins was one of the few free agent centers available who could have been a top six solution and with him out of the picture it makes an extension for Zibanejad more likely. Of course, the specter of a blockbuster deal for a center (like Jack Eichel) could change all of that.
The dollars that Nugent-Hopkins is earning could be a preview of what Zibanejad may be offered if the Rangers are willing to go for the longer term. Listen to what Oilers’ general manager Ken Holland said about Nugent-Hopkins.
“The next four or five years … this is the prime years of lots of players on this team. I know Nuge, he knows us. He likes being an Oiler. I know what he can bring to the team. We found a solution that made him comfortable, and us comfortable.” Holland added “No contract is perfect, I’m sure Ryan would like to have a bigger cap number, and I’d like to have less term. If Ryan goes to market on July 28, I have no doubt he (makes more money). He’s giving there. He wants to be an Oiler, he loves living here, and he wants to be an Oiler his entire career.”
Could that be Chris Drury talking about Mika Zibanejad? Very possibly, with the important sentence the one being that the next five years will be the prime years for a lot of players. That is the same situation for the Rangers.
Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba and Zibanejad are all in their prime. Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren are 23 years old and Morgan Barron turns 23 in December. The Rangers are still a young team, but they are not a team of teenagers.
Due to the pandemic, the finances of the NHL took a big hit. Sure, the league has just inked lucrative television rights contracts and look to be be making big bucks from online betting, but it will take years for most teams to recover, even including ones with deep pockets like the Madison Square Garden Company.
That means the days of the $10 million AAV deals won’t be seen for a while and players will have to gamble when they decide to sign their new contracts. The question is whether Mika Zibanejad will be willing to do a Nugent-Hopkins type of deal for long term security and less money year to year.
Next, the Arvidsson trade.