Will Cuylle’s steep scoring slump through the quarter mark of the season is quickly complicating how the New York Rangers approach his next contract. Cuylle is one of a few Rangers who will need a new deal after this season, and after a hot start to the campaign, he has completely fallen off a cliff. High and low swings are something the Rangers went through last season, and this lack of consistency is what will cause Chris Drury to think long and hard about how he proceeds.
It is still quite early, but CapWages has already put out some projections for RFA contracts, and Cuylle's number is an interesting one. As of this moment, Cuylle's projected number is $6,542,140 on a four-year contract. For the sake of ease, we can call that $6.5 million, and it is a number I don't think Cuylle would take. With the way the cap is going up year over year, that $6.5 million figure could soon be what an average fourth-liner makes. In addition to that, a four-year deal would take Cuylle to age 29, and as such, would eat two UFA years.
Slumping Production Clouds Cuylle’s Next Contract
Putting the money aside, Cuylle very much feels like a player the Rangers will continue to go short on, as they want to know exactly what they have. On the season, he has four goals, five assists, and nine points in 21 games.
Stretch of Season | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games 1 to 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.60 |
Games 11 to 21 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.27 |
2026-27 Pace | 84 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 0.43 |
In his first 10 games, he scored three goals and had three assists for six points, which is a healthy 0.60 points-per-game average. Over his last 11 games, he has one goal, two assists, and three points, which equates to 0.27 points per game... production that simply is not going to cut it.
In some respects, this year has been the opposite of last year. Last season, Cuylle went 1-3-4 in 12 October games, and he followed that up by going 6-5-11 in 15 games in November. He then went 3-5-8 in 15 December games before things took a turn for the worse. In January, February, and March, Cuylle appeared in 33 games and had six goals and four assists for 10 points, ending April with a line of 4-1-5 in seven games.
When you pull back a little further, you see Cuylle as someone who burst onto the scene with 13 goals and 21 points appearing in 81 games as a rookie skating just 11:08 a night. He followed that up with 20-25-45 in 82 games skating 15:05 as a 22-year-old. Last year he scored 20 again, yet had seven fewer assists despite receiving a big bump in minutes up to 16:51 a night.
Tye Kartye’s Surge Complicates the Depth Chart
The Rangers played in their 21st game on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, officially marking the quarter mark of the 2026-27 season. Based on his stats today, Cuylle is on pace to finish with 16 goals, 20 assists, and 36 points in 84 games, which would mark another season of decline. Analytically speaking, Cuylle has also been one of the team's weaker skaters with a 35.12 GF%, a 46.92 CF%, and a 48.75 xGF% in 243 minutes of 5v5 play per Evolving-Hockey. He has mostly skated on the third line, and recently had a brief stint at center that didn't go great.
What makes matters even more interesting is the play of Tye Kartye, a player claimed off waivers last year, and how he has quickly leapfrogged Cuylle on the depth chart after previously skating on the same line as him. Kartye has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 21 games this season. He appeared in 24 games in total following his claim off waivers last year, and in that span he finished with 5-9-14. That he has matched his Rangers total from last year in three fewer games is impressive, and it adds some heat to Cuylle's situation.
The good news is that it is still early for the Rangers and Cuylle. The team plays again on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens before heading into another week-long break in action ahead of a hectic schedule leading up to and going through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Cuylle is going to need to find himself and get his game going. If he doesn't, it will create an interesting dilemma for the Rangers, and with their ever-continuing need for a center, who is to say Cuylle might not find himself on the trade block to turn things around with a change of scenery? It's a little early for that, but the clock ticks on.
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