If the New York Rangers want to return to being an elite contender in 2025-26, President and General Manager Chris Drury will need to get creative in opening up cap space, and that is why early on there has been talk about their vulnerability to offer sheets. The one player who has drawn considerable attention is Will Cuylle who is coming off a career year.
Cuylle turned 23 in February and finished the season with 20 goals, 25 assists, and 45 points in 82 games while skating 15:05 a night. He primarily skated with Filip Chytil at center and Kaapo Kakko on the opposite wing, but that changed after both were traded. It's a shame it came to pass, because in 184 minutes the trio had a slash line that includes a goals for percentage of 85.73, a Corsi for percentage of 53.4, and an expected goals for percentage of 51.99 per Evolving-Hockey.
The Rangers' sophomore forward ended the year skating primarily with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad, and the trio had some success as they posted a 49.33 goals for percentage, a 54.44 Corsi for percentage, and a 52.9 expected goals for percentage in 129 minutes together at 5v5.
There's a case to be made that the Rangers should run this line back to start next season because Miller was just acquired and Zibanejad has a no-movement clause, but in order to do that the team needs to come to terms on a new deal with Cuylle.
Even with the cap set to rise, the Rangers are projected to have $8.42 million in cap space according to PuckPedia, and they need to make decisions on K'Andre Miller, Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe, Arthur Kaliyev, and Zac Jones in addition to Cuylle.
The Rangers likely want to pay Cuylle in the $3 million to $4 million range, and although he has limited experience, he is a young power forward who flirted with 50 points this season, and is better than some players who were offer sheeted last season. He's also drawn comparisons to Tom Wilson, a player who is a bit of a unicorn in terms of how they impact the game, and early on it's a bit justified.
In terms of offer sheets and compensation, things get interested when you approach the $4.68 million to $7.02 million range, and more interesting at the $7.02 million to $9.36 million range, because both are situations where a team could try and make the Rangers uncomfortable.
While it may seem unlikely that a team would offer Cuylle a deal that comes with an AAV of $7.03 million, consider that Dylan Holloway had 18 points in 89 games with the Edmonton Oilers skating 10:21 a night and signed an offer sheet with a $2.29 million AAV. Part of the reason St. Louis took that chance is because they had an eye on the future, and in year one with the Blues he posted a line of 26-37-63 in 77 games and projects to be an important piece for them going forward.
Cuylle has 33 goals, 33 assists, and 67 points in 167 games, so it stands to reason that considering he took a nice leap this season, it is possible that he could go to another level next season with an uptick in playing time, and opportunities on the power play. In addition to that, at 6'3" and 212 pounds Cuylle plays a physical brand of hockey that teams covet, and it's not hard to envision a few teams considering whether they should tender an offer sheet just for those attributes.
If the number came in above $7.03 million per season, it would be hard for Cuylle to turn that down, and it would be equally hard for the Rangers to consider matching it based on all the other business they have to take care of. Not only that, but at his peak potential, Cuylle seems like a player who will maybe hit 65 or more points in a season, and even if you factor in his other contributions, that seems a bit rich.
It would stink to lose him, but if an offer were submitted and they didn't match, adding a first, second, and third round pick to their system that doesn't have the brightest of futures, given that Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann are now at the NHL level, would be a plus. Those picks could be used to draft players, or as assets in a trade to add even better talent.
With that in mind, it feels like the Rangers have two options at this point. The first option is signing Cuylle to a deal that's a little more expensive than they'd like with the hope of him taking it and not entertaining the idea of an offer sheet. He turned 23 in February which means he has four years left until unrestricted free agency, so you'd potentially be looking at a five-year deal to avoid a situation where the next negotiation with Cuylle gives him even more leverage.
The Rangers might be a bit gun shy doing that given how Alexis Lafrenière performed after signing his mega extension, and it would be hard to blame them. As a fun aside, both Cuylle and Lafrenière finished with 45 points this season. If the Blueshirts did relent and sign Cuylle to that type of deal, it would probably mean they'd be more aggressive with trades to free space, and would also mean moving on from K'Andre Miller, another player who could get an offer sheet.
The second option would be trading Cuylle, and trying to capitalize on his value. If the Rangers find themselves in a position where signing him could have a detrimental impact on the rest of their offseason business, it would make sense to try and figure something out on their own terms. The move could be justified if the result of moving him out brought in some much needed help on defense or at center, and if Gabe Perreault got more minutes as a result. It would be a risk, but it would be better than being put in a position where they get stuck with Cuylle and then are left scrambling.
A lot of what the Rangers do will come down to how much cap space they can free up. Things become a lot easier if they find a suitor for Chris Kreider, a franchise legend expected to be on the trade block. If they were to move on from recent trade acquisition Carson Soucy, that would also create some breathing room. There are other options they could consider, but the players making the most money (Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin) are the least likely to leave.
There's no great option here, because there really isn't a reality where the Rangers come to terms on a deal with Cuylle, free up cap space, and are then able to make the necessary improvements to the roster. Chris Drury's seat got cooler with the hiring of Sullivan, and ownership has full faith in him. But how he approaches this summer will impact the trajectory of the Rangers and determine if they can successful retool, or if a true rebuild is closer than fans would like.