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The New York Rangers Struggles with the Salary Cap

By Matthew Braver

NY Rangers (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NY Rangers (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 26: Cole Bardreau #54 of the New York Islanders skates against Jacob Trouba #8 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on September 26, 2022, in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 26: Cole Bardreau #54 of the New York Islanders skates against Jacob Trouba #8 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on September 26, 2022, in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

So why are the Rangers in the midst of a battle with the salary cap?

They were one of the high-spending teams just before Covid-19 shut the league down. In the 2019 offseason, the Rangers made big steps towards ending their rebuild by signing Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba to long-term contracts, with Panarin signing a seven-year $81.5 million contract and Trouba signing a seven-year $56 million contract.

During the 2019-20 season, Chris Kreider signed a seven-year $45.5 million contract extension. The AAVs of these three players’ contracts sum up to $26.14 million, about 32% of the team’s total salary cap which at the time was $81.5 million.

Using the average yearly upper limit salary cap growth of 3.48%, the forecasted 2023-2024 salary cap would have been in the ballpark of $93.4 million, not the NHL estimate of $83.5 million. The Rangers front office expected the salary cap to rise at about this rate when signing these long-term contracts, so over time they would count for less of a percentage of the team’s overall salary cap. When the cap remained stagnant, the Rangers began to encounter issues.

While these contracts are a little high, they are by no means bad contracts even given the lack of salary cap movement. In three years in New York, Panarin has totaled 249 points in just 186 games, an incredible 1.34 ppg. Sure he was not himself in this year’s playoffs, and maybe he should not be the second highest-paid player in the NHL, but he is still one of the most productive offensive players in the league.

Trouba, who was recently selected to be the Ranger’s captain, was a staple to the team’s defense in the playoffs this past season, laying big hits nightly and setting the tone defensively. Kreider is coming off a 52-goal season, one where he scored the most powerplay goals in the entire league.

All three players have proven why they deserve this money with their play on the ice, but the salary cap freeze is not allowing the Rangers much cap flexibility and will be a struggle for the organization next offseason.

Looking at the 2023-24 offseason is where things begin to get tricky for the Rangers front office. With some of their young stars will be seeking contract extensions the team will need to make some decisions. 2020 #1 overall pick Alexis Lafrenière, rising defensive star K’Andre Miller and Filip Chytil are all set to be restricted free agents after the end of next season.

All three players will all demand a higher AAV than they are currently making, especially Lafrenière and Miller, who are still on their rookie contracts. Currently, Lafrenière ($925,000), Miller ($925,000), and Chytil ($2,300,000) make up just 4% of the team’s salary cap, a percentage that will rise significantly if the team elects to extend all three players.

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