Today is the beginning of free agency, and it is also the start of a new business year for the National Hockey League. Each July 1st teams line up to sign players who hit the open market, but every year there are many others who cash in big time. The New York Rangers are one of the teams that is routinely handing out millions of dollars on this day, and here's a look at the Blueshirts who just got paid big time.
Igor Shesterkin - $15.05 million
Shesterkin is the team's franchise player and signed a record breaking goalie contract in December of 2024 which carries an AAV of $11.5 million. The vast majority of this contract is paid in signing bonuses which makes the contract buyout proof. This is the first year in which Shesterkin is taking home a massive lump sum, and he just got $15.05 million richer. For the remainder of the season he will earn $775,000 in base salary.
Alexis Lafrenière - $8 million
Lafrenière's new contract is officially in effect for the Rangers, and the 2020 No. 1 overall pick will count against the cap at $7.45 million for the next seven years. The Rangers' young winger negotiated a couple of signing bonuses into his contract, and this year is the biggest one he will receive. Lafrenière just received $8 million, and he will earn a base salary of $2 million for the duration of the 2025-26 campaign.
Mika Zibanejad - $7.5 million
Zibanejad just entered the fourth year of an eight-year contract signed on October 10, 2021 that is worth $68.8 million. The Rangers' alternate captain earn $1 million in base salary each and every year of his contract, and gets a signing bonus. This year's lump sum is for $7.5 million which is down from the $9 million he took home last season.
Artemi Panarin - $7 million
Panarin is in the final year of a seven-year contract signed on July 1, 2019 worth $81.5 million. He has an annual cap hit of $11.64 million, but the majority of his contract was paid out in signing bonuses. This is the final year of his contract and Panarin just got $7 million richer today.
Vincent Trocheck - $3 million
Trocheck signed with the Rangers during the 2022 offseason and came to terms on an agreement that paid him $39.38 million over seven years. He just entered year four of this pact, and this is the final year he will collect a signing bonus of $3 million. Next July he will take home $1.5 million, and the following year that number drops to $1 million.
Will Borgen - $1 million
Borgen signed a five-year deal worth $20.5 million shortly after joining the Broadway Blueshirts. The Rangers' right-handed rear guard earns $4.1 million per season, and this year he is collecting the first of two $1 million signing bonuses. He will earn another one next year, and for the remainder of his contract he will take home $4 million in base salary.
Jonathan Quick - $550,000
The Rangers' veteran backup signed a one-year deal to return to his childhood favorite squad on March 12, 2025. The deal counts for $1.55 million against the salary cap, and includes a mix of base salary, performance bonuses, and a signing bonus. Quick just earned $550,000, and will take home $1 million in base salary for the rest of this year.