The Athletic has once again released another league wide ranking listicle, and the latest release is all about the dollars and cents, and the sense when it comes to spending, and fans of the New York Rangers won't be surprised to see where they landed. While the Rangers' placement on the list isn't what you want to see... they did improve from last year. With that said, let's dive into the Rangers' current situation.
Rangers improve by two spots on latest contract efficiency ratings list
Last season the Blueshirts ranked 24th out of 32 teams in the league, and this year they came in at 22nd which is good enough for a B-. The general vibe of their contract chart is that they have gotten rid of a lot of anchors, but most of their deals are average to below average. They've generally done a bad job collecting surplus value on contracts, essentially locking up talent at a rate that is much lower than their market rate, and that puts them toward the back end of the mushy middle.
Adam Fox has one of the best contracts in the league
According to The Athletic's model, Adam Fox is currently worth an AAV of $17.2 million per season, and the Rangers are only paying him $9.5 million per season. Given that there is three years left on his deal, that difference in his actual cost and market cost gives the Rangers a surplus value of $23 million. It should be noted that the Rangers' total surplus is $28 million, and Fox is accounting for the most of it.
Alexis Lafrenière's deal was another one with double digit surplus value, as he's currently worth $9.1 million per season but only making $7.45 million. He's got six years left on his deal, and the surplus value is $10.1 million.
Rangers have a number of negative contracts on their books
Another key component of the team's ranking factors in the negative contracts on the books. For example, when it comes to forwards, Taylor Raddysh has a -$0.3 million surplus value, Juuso Parssinen is at -$0.3 million, Matt Rempe is at -$0.2 million, as is Joe Veleno.
The bigger issue for the Rangers is defense, and two deals that the model doesn't like include Braden Schneider and Vladislav Gavrikov. Schneider is reportedly worth just $1.9 million a year, and the Rangers are paying him $5.5 million this season. His deal is just for one year, so that doesn't hurt the Rangers as much.
Gavrikov's projected value is $5.8 million per season, and the Rangers are paying him $7 million a year. I am not sure I completely agree with the math here, Gavrikov was very good for the Rangers last season, and he also locked in at an under market rate when he was a free agent before the salary cap exploded.
The last big negative deal is one the Rangers took on for some weird reason this summer, and that is Joonas Korpisalo. His current market rate is $900,000, and he's making $3 million a season with the Rangers. Had Dylan Garand been in his place, that would have been a much better bang for the team's buck.
Rangers need to win some deals going forward
This ranking just speaks to the fact that the Rangers need to win some upcoming negotiations. It will be very interesting to see what type of deal they give Gabe Perreault, and he's eligible to sign an extension this summer. Youngsters are getting fat contracts around the league, Macklin Celebrini just became the league's highest paid player by AAV, and the Rangers should think about what a comparable deal would look like for their budding young winger.
Knowing the Rangers, they may try and kick the can down the road, and instead offer Perreault a bridge deal. That only gives him a better chance to ask for even more money on his third contract, and such a decision would result in a contract with less overall surplus value.
How the team plays this season will dictate the type of contracts that are handed out, but something has to give as the Rangers look to improving their overall operation as they push to return to the playoffs.
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