What’s next for the Rangers?
After being eliminated by the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, there are many questions the Rangers will need to answer this offseason. With about $12M in cap space, the Rangers will need to decide on who to retain out of Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp for the second line center position. There is also the question of how much money to give to fourth liner Tyler Motte, who proved to be extremely effective when he was in the lineup, especially on the penalty kill. Chris Drury will also need to save as much cap space as possible while re-signing Kaapo Kakko. If Alexandar Georgiev does not come back, they will also need a backup goalie for next season.
In terms of backup goalies, a veteran netminder might be beneficial to Igor Shesterkin, who will undoubtedly receive most of the workload next season. Jaroslav Halak would make for a solid addition to the team, as he has been on many playoff runs throughout his career and posted solid numbers for the Canadiens, Blues, Islanders, and Bruins. Signing him would simply bring another veteran presence to the locker room on an ideally cheap contract, hopefully less than a $1M cap hit.
Greg Wyshynski, writer for ESPN who was on the podcast this week, mentioned Ondrej Palat as a potential acquisition for the Rangers to improve their lackluster even strength play. However, he would likely ask for north of $6M, which takes up most of the cap space the Rangers currently have to re-sign their free agents. The Rangers can also move Patrik Nemeth's contract to free up $2.5M in space, but would then have to replace him, so it would most likely be around a net gain of $1.5M.
If Tyler Motte is asking for around $2.5M, it might be worth it to bite the bullet because he was an important piece in the bottom six, similar to former Ranger, Jesper Fast. That would likely mean Frank Vatrano would not be re-signed, which would have to push Alexis Lafrenière to the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Of the two second line center candidates to choose from, it seems like Andrew Copp would be the cheaper option. It has been reported previously that he is looking for at least $5.5M on his next contract. Copp checks off many boxes as he can play center and the wing, power play, and penalty kill, not to mention he can win a faceoff, which is an area Strome struggled in throughout his time with the Rangers.
The offseason has only just begun for Drury and the Rangers, but there are still a lot of holes to fill for next year's lineup. Time will tell what moves will be made, but there might be an opportunity in training camp for some of the Rangers' younger prospects to earn a spot in the lineup, including players like Nils Lundkvist, Zac Jones, and Brennan Othmann.
Halak photo: Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images
Palat photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
