The New York Rangers need to focus on long-term sustainability as they modify their roster this summer in conjunction with the post Letter 2.0 blueprint, but they still need to put a competitive team on the ice this season. The Rangers have missed the playoffs in back to back seasons, and there's no reason to waste another year of Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin's prime. Last offseason they made a savvy addition of Vladislav Gavrikov to address a major need, and there's another player they could go after to fill a similar role.
Mantha fits an immediate need for the Rangers
Mantha appeared in just 13 games during the 2024-25 season, and he came back with a vengeance in 2025-26. The 6'5" and 240 pound winger tallied 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points in 81 games, and it was a career year for him at age 31.
Mantha will turn 32 in September, and while there is always going to be concern of committing money to a player of his age, the Rangers have hole in their top six. Gabe Perreault and Alexis Lafrenière are the only two wingers you can pencil in for sure, and after that it gets tricky. Will Cuylle could be an option, but beyond that there isn't a great option.
The Rangers need to do everything in their power to score more goals and have a balanced attack, and adding Mantha would help that. New York scored 235 goals this past season, and ranked 23rd of 32 teams in the league.
Just for the sake of comparison, Vladislav Gavrikov turns 31 in November, and he was the perfect compliment for Adam Fox on the top pair when both were in the lineup. There's no reason Mantha can't have a similar impact, and it just goes to show that you can sign players who are slightly older than traditional UFAs and get results that exceed expectations.
Projected contract is pretty reasonable
According to AFP Analytics, Mantha's projected contract for the upcoming season is a four-year deal worth $6,354,000 per season. With $26,575,477 in cap space this offseason, Mantha's projected salary would be pretty manageable.
That number could grow if the Rangers are able to trade Vincent Trocheck, and if the two essentially offset each other, the team would be in decent shape. The key to any deal for Mantha would be limiting trade protection, because the Rangers would want to maintain flexibility in the event that their retool becomes more of a rebuild than initially expected.
The Rangers wouldn't have that type of flexibility if they were to shop at the top of the market for players like Alex Tuch, but there's every reason to believe they can take a hybrid approach for someone like Mantha... as long as he does make it to market.
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