The New York Rangers don’t appear to be passing on any opportunities to improve the roster anytime soon.
But according to one notable insider, there was one move the Blueshirts passed on.
In the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the Rangers passed on the chance to land Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Friedman pointed out that New York had looked into Zary prior to landing on waivers earlier this week. However, there was something about him that just didn’t jive with the organization.
“I think one of the teams that has kind of dipped their goes on Zary a bit are the… Rangers.”
Friedman made it clear that it’s Zary’s $3.775 million cap that has prevented teams from pulling the trigger on the 25-year-old.
“So, the biggest challenge, and the reason Zary wasn’t claimed on waivers, is because of his cap hit… And they couldn’t, people just can’t take that right now.”
That’s true. The Rangers have just $376K in cap space. There’s no way the club can pull off a move involving Zary without freeing up some space. And clearing up nearly $4 million for a guy who figures to be a bottom-six forward just doesn’t make much sense.
Zary makes sense for Rangers but at a much lower price point
To be fair, Zary makes a lot of sense for the Rangers. But the issue is that he doesn’t fit into the lineup at his current cap hit.
The Rangers could use some more depth down the middle, particularly with the injury to Joe Veleno and some of the early-season struggles by Noah Laba. That’s why adding a guy like Zary would help the Blueshirts’ overall structure.
But at nearly $4 million, that’s not something the team can afford at this point.
But if there were a path in which Zary could come cheaper, the Rangers might be enticed to pull the trigger.
There could be two paths to make Zary work in New York
Friedman highlighted various ways in which the Flames could move Zary at this point. One is retention. The Flames could retain a portion of his salary. So, Zary at, say, $1.8 million wouldn’t look so bad to the Rangers.
But that’s not really happening. Zary has two more years on his contract after this season. As such, it’s unlikely the Flames would like three years of dead cap space on their books.
The second path would be a mutual contract termination. We’ve seen that happen before with players who are just unhappy with their current situation and just want a fresh start.
The most recent case of that was former Ranger Chris Kreider.
Would the Flames and Zary be willing to go that route? Unless there’s a trade out there involving Zary’s full cap hit, it’s something the two sides may explore. The Flames get out from under Zary’s contract, while the Rangers get a player they could use at a much more palatable price point.
Let’s see what happens. This rumor might just fall under the category of what-ifs that never really get very far.
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