The New York Rangers did the bulk of their work at the start of the offseason by acquiring the likes of Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Besides those moves, it was a quiet remainder of the offseason before the start of training camp. Yet, there was potential business that the Rangers could have done.
Sept. 16 was the official cutoff day for teams to sign their players to eight-year contract extensions. With the new collective bargaining agreement kicking in, seven years is now the maximum amount of term a team can sign a player to. The Washington Capitals did just that, signing Ryan Leonard to an eight-year, $84 million contract. That news had Rangers fans wondering if general manager Chris Drury would get a deal done with Gabe Perreault before the cutoff. Ultimately, nothing transpired, as Perreault is in the final year of his rookie contract before becoming a restricted free agent.
So, why didn't Drury even entertain the chance to lock in Perreault for the foreseeable future?
Chris Drury had no desire to pursue contract extension with Gabe Perreault
The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano and Peter Baugh detailed why the Rangers didn't try to sign Perreault to a contract extension before the start of this season. The two reported that Drury didn't have a desire to try and negotiate an extension before the Sept. 16 deadline. So why was that?
Mercogliano and Baugh mention that since Perreault is a 10.2(c) category player, which means he didn't log enough games during the 2024-25 season to earn a year of service time, and therefore when factoring in his additional experience he is not eligible to be offer sheeted. The two Rangers reporters say that since the Rangers don't have to worry about a Leo Carlsson-style scenario, it "reduced the urgency to negotiate now." Of course, that means the Rangers wont have to match a ludicrous offer from another team, or risk losing the player to instead receive four first-round picks. The Anaheim Ducks learned that the hard way after they matched a five-year, $90 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers for Carlsson.
The Athletic reporters also mention that the Rangers will now have the time to evaluate Perreault as a player on the roster. They should be able to get a good look at his development, since he is going to be the top line winger for them this upcoming season.
Gabe Perreault's price tag could significantly increase as the season progresses
The thing is, the Rangers are taking a bit of a risk in the fact that if Perreault plays better than he did last season, his price tag could significantly increase.
Perreault didn't exactly light up the stat sheets, but he did prove his worth in his all-around game. That, in turn, allowed head coach Mike Sullivan to give Perreault more opportunities, including playing on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière. In 49 games, Perreault scored 12 goals and recorded 15 assists. The bulk of his points arrived after the Olympic break, where he recorded nine goals and 10 assists in 25 games.
There are high expectations for Perreault, with some prospect experts believing he has similarities to Tampa Bay Lightning star winger and last season's Hart Trophy winner, Nikita Kucherov. If Perreault gets near tthat territory, Rangers fans would certainly sign up for that.
But looking at the market for younger forwards, the prices are only increasing. Leonard is earning $10.5 million per season. Look, Perrault is not going to get anywhere near Macklin Celebrini and Carlsson territory of earning $18 million per year. But, if he does live up to expectations this season, Drury and the Rangers may have not choice but to commit eight figures per year to Perreault.
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