The New York Rangers have nearly $27 million in cap space at their disposal this summer, and with no major free agent to retain internally, they technically could sign almost any free agent out there. The team has a number of holes to address as they attempt to get back to being a playoff contender, and it might be tempting for Chris Drury to try and do some big spending this July. Alex Tuch is set to headline this year's class, and given his projected contract of seven years with a cap hit in excess of $10 million per season, the Rangers should stay far away from the New York native.
Tuch isn't good enough to make $10 million
Tuch just turned 30, and this offseason's weak class gives him a once in a lifetime opportunity to land a fat contract in free agency. He's played 615 games in his NHL career to date, and has scored 200 goals while adding 248 assists for 448 points.
This year he finished with 33 goals and assists for 66 points in 79 games, and that represents his third-best season to date. His career-best season came at age 26, and it saw Tuch tally 36 goals and 79 points in just 74 games.
AFP Analytics has his deal projected at seven years with a cap hit of $10,116,889, and while there's no doubt that a team will step up and meet that price, it shouldn't be the New York Rangers. Had the Rangers not traded for J.T. Miller going back, adding a player like Tuch would have been more defensible given his style of play and expected output. But with the Rangers in a worse spot now than they were then, such a deal would make even less sense.
When you look at his numbers, nothing screams $10 million player, even in a world where the salary cap is increasing year over year as part of the NHL's CBA. Tuch is ideally your third or fourth most important forward in any given year, but his projected contract sees him being paid like a top guy. He is a 6'4" two-way power forward that would make the roster a little better, but it's hard to justify paying someone who's never averaged above a point per game that type of money.
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