The NHL's salary cap is projected to balloon to $127.5 million by 2028-29. While several rival organizations got ahead of this financial reality by locking in key players before the league restricted heavily front-loaded contracts, the New York Rangers opted against extending their eligible core this summer.
With the cap established at $104 million for this season and slated to reach $113.5 million next July, this unprecedented revenue growth fundamentally changes how players will approach contract negotiations. For the Rangers, no player stands to benefit more from this soaring cap environment than Will Cuylle.
Cuylle has golden opportunity ahead of him
Cuylle represents one of the organization's sharpest development success stories in recent memory. Selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, the 24-year-old winger established himself as an NHL regular and earned a two-year, $7.8 million bridge deal ($3.9 million AAV) off his entry-level contract. The Rangers even awarded him an alternate captain’s "A" during the preseason, signaling how deeply the coaching staff and front office value his leadership.
The shootout winner was pretty Cool(s) 😌 pic.twitter.com/Mqppc2SNHz
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 25, 2026
Cuylle will turn 25 in February and is just two seasons away from unrestricted free agency. While comparable wingers across the league inked long-term commitments this offseason, the Rangers have held off. To date, Cuylle has posted three consecutive durable campaigns including 13 goals and 21 points as a rookie, 20 goals and 45 points in his sophomore year, and 20 goals and 38 points last season.
No surprise here, but Will Cuylle has been among the most physical players on the ice. He's moving well and taking the body. It's been a pretty physical scrimmage. Guys aren't holding back on day one. #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) September 17, 2026
Remaining in the lineup every night is a skill in its own right, especially for a player with Cuylle's physical profile. He racked up 249 hits in his rookie year, 301 in year two, and 302 last season. Most importantly, he produced those numbers while averaging just 14:22 of ice time per game. If given consistent top-six minutes and regular power-play time, he could realistically flirt with 30 goals and 60 points.
Cuylle is built like a modern power forward at 6'3" and 216 pounds, and is slightly above average as a skater with a 61st percentile skating speed per NHL EDGE. That being said, he can turn on the jets when needed, and ranked 80th percentile in 20 to 22 mph bursts, and also was 80th percentile in 18 to 20 mph bursts.
A path into the Rangers' top six
The Rangers have five players firmly locked into their top-six forward group: Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafrenière, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Gabe Perreault. The remaining vacancy belongs to veteran Oliver Bjorkstrand, who projects more like an insulated placeholder than a permanent fixture on the second line.
The players who could theoretically "steal" Bjorkstrand's spot include Cuylle, the recently signed Eeli Tolvanen, and possibly Liam Greentree who was just assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Tolvanen is a player with a similar background to Bjorkstrand, and in eight seasons he's averaged 18 goals and 37 points a season to Bjorkstrand's 21 and 48 respectively.
It would take a herculean effort in Hartford for Greentree to leap from the AHL to the top six, but it's something that could happen if he truly earns it and no one on the main roster gets the job done. That's where Cuylle comes in, because if he were going to take a leap and make the case that he can be a major difference maker, this would be the year for him to do it.
Looking at his career to date, last season was the best season of Cuylle's career by expected goals percentage. Via Evolving-Hockey, Cuylle has gone from 48.57 to 48.36 to 49.83 xGF% over the last three years. In that same timeframe his CF% (puck possession) has remained pretty much the same as he's posted seasons of 49.4, 49.64, and 48.62 CF%.
Chris Drury is in a tough spot
Passing on an early extension leaves the Rangers in a tricky spot. If Cuylle takes advantage of top-six deployment and produces another career year, his camp will hold immense leverage. He could comfortably target a short-term deal that bridges him straight into UFA status just as the cap makes its record $14 million single-season jump, or command a massive long-term AAV that reflects the new salary scale.
There is always a risk in waiting, but with the way the cap is increasing, a player with Cuylle's profile and reputation could earn an amazing deal on accident. The Rangers could have saved themselves a potential headache by trying to get Cuylle under contract a few weeks ago, and it will be interesting to see how everything plays out from here.
Power forwards who combine elite physical edge, durability, and finishing touch are rare commodities across the league, and the one thing that Cuylle hasn't had to this point is the playing time to push for his ultimate potential. The roadblocks that previously held him back are gone, and this year could be huge for him and his development.
The Rangers have spent years trying to develop a player of Cuylle's caliber, and by letting him play out this contract in a surging financial market, keeping him on Broadway long term is about to get significantly more expensive. I don't envy the position Drury is in, but it is one that could have easily been prevent. Holding off on Perreault wasn't something I agreed with, but I could understand the logic. Cuylle's been much more of a sure thing, and hopefully the team's inaction doesn't backfire o them.
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