Slim pickings in the Rangers’ hunt for a center

There’s no doubt that one of the items on Chris Drury’s to-do list was to find a top six center.  With Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome signed through this season, it is not mission critical, but the belief is that Drury has been working the phones to solve the biggest issue facing the New York Rangers.

As we get closer to training camp, the odds of a deal getting done are getting slimmer.  Ranger fans were holding out hope for Aleksander Barkov, who was going into the last year of a six-year deal with the Panthers.  Now, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski is reporting that the Panthers fully expect to re-sign their Selke Trophy winner.

The sentiment is apparently two-way with Florida Hockey Now reporting that the two sides began negotiating as soon as they were allowed to on July 28.   So, take Barkov off your dream list of potential centers.

The guy we won’t talk about

Yes, we said that we won’t be doing any more Eichel stories, but before he went on vacation, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello dropped a bombshell tweet.

In the bizarre ongoing war of words between Carpiniello and the New York Post, Larry Brooks discounted that report pretty definitively the same day.

"“The latest on Jack Eichel consists of no more than the ongoing blizzard of contradictory tales and innuendo posted on social media, some of which has come from the account of an MSG-Network analyst who is friendly with Drury.The Post reported via Twitter on Friday that the GM last week had been telling agents that he had never expressed serious interest in trading for Buffalo’s disaffected center and could not understand why the Rangers have been consistently linked to Eichel.”"

Previously, there had been some dispute between them over whether newly acquired Patrik Nemeth is “nasty.”

The Buffalo News (subscription required) came up with a theory that a three-way deal could work involving the Vegas Golden Knights with Zibanejad waiving his no-movement clause to go to Sin City, Eichel to New York and a boatload of prospects, players and draft picks to Buffalo. Remember, it’s pure speculation.

Still, the common consensus is with training camps opening in just a month and Eichel still in limbo regarding his neck surgery, there will likely be no deal until he is fully healthy.

In reality, why would the Rangers trade for a player who would miss several months of the season and leave themselves with Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil or Barclay Goodrow as the centers on their top two lines.  No way if the goal is to make the playoffs this season.

What’s left?

Who knows what Drury is cooking up?  He may be waiting for teams to get desperate.  Could the Flames dangle Sean Monahan if their season goes south?  If the Kings improve enough will they would be willing to trade one of their stud center prospects for one of the Rangers’ young defensemen? Christian Dvorak remains an intriguing option but considering the cap issues facing every NHL team, more deals seem unlikely.

The one that got away has to be Sam Reinhart.  The 26-year-old is a legitimate second line pivot and would have fit in nicely with the Rangers.  True, his faceoff stats leave something to be desired (38.8% lifetime winning percentage), but theoretically, he would have thrived getting away from Buffalo.

The fact is the Florida Panthers got him for a 2022 first round draft pick and goalie prospect Devon Levi.   Could the Rangers have made a better offer?   Then he went and signed a three-year deal with the Panthers at a reasonable Average Annual Value of $6.5 million.  The fact that the Sabres traded him to a team in their own Atlantic Division makes it even more puzzling.

What it means is that it is likely that the Rangers will go into the 2021-22 season with the current roster.  Their center depth is still pretty good with Zibanejad, Strome, Filip Chytil, Morgan Barron, Barclay Goodrow and Kevin Rooney.  It would be nice to know that the team had a center who can win more than half of his draws.

The biggest issue facing the Rangers is that both Zibanejad and Strome will be Unrestricted Free Agents after this season.   Blueline Station’s Michael DeRosa recently made a compelling argument for extending Zibanejad and if there are no deals to be made, it could be the only option for the Blueshirts.

In the meantime, are there any free agent centers still out there who could help the Blueshirts?  Here’s who is left.

• Travis Zajac (rumored to have a deal in place with the Isles)
• Casey Cizikas (rumored to have a deal in place with the Isles)
• Tyler Bozak
• Artem Anisimov
• Eric Staal
• Tyler Ennis
• Frans Nielsen
• Alex Galchenyuk
• Derick Brassard
• Dominik Kahun

Of all the centers on this list, the most intriguing is 35-year-old Tyler Bozak.  He is coming off a $5 million deal with the Blues and had 17 points in 31 games last season. He’s a solid locker room presence, can play all three forward positions and has a lifetime faceoff winning percentage of 53.8% and has been north of 55% the last two seasons.  If he can be had for close to the NHL minimum (very possible), he could be a veteran option.

Alex Galchenyuk is only 27 years old and has played for five teams in three years. He’s a former 30 goal scorer who is desperate to revitalize his career.  Is he worth a tryout?

For the rest of the names on the list, it should be no thanks.

The worst case scenario would be for the Rangers to be in the thick of the playoff fight at the trade deadline, forced to keep both of their pending UFA’s and risk losing them both for nothing after the season.  That’s why a Zibanejad extension is the best option right now.

Unlike other seasons, there will be roster moves made before the games start for real.  Today, eight teams are over the salary cap ceiling and five more have less than $2 million in cap space.  The Rangers are relatively flush with over $8 million in cap space and almost everyone under contract.

The only thing set in stone is that training camp starts on September 21 and the first preseason game is September 26.  Until then, we’ll see what happens.