Don't Mess With The Metro

It is obvious that the New York Rangers currently have holes in their lineup and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the trade with Arizona helped attribute to that. But, the trade sending center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta to the desert helped to clear up just about $20 million in total for the blueshirts, but what could the now-free cap space entail?

Well first, let’s take a look at Antti Raanta. Raanta took a huge step since being traded from Chicago to New York in 2015, where the Rangers sent forward Ryan Haggerty in exchange for the future Arizona starter. In Raanta’s two years with New York, he played 53 games, had a .921 save percentage and a 2.26 Goals Against Average. Most of his growth should surely be attributed to Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, who also helped develop now Oilers starting goaltender Cam Talbot into the player he is today.

As for Stepan, the Rangers now former #1 center was drafted 51st overall in round 2 of the 2008 NHL Draft. Coming out of the University of Wisconsin, Stepan established himself as a playmaker, but slowly evolved his game into becoming a very effective two way center whose presence could be felt on the ice in any situation. Proven to be a valuable penalty killer, Stepan matured into a flexible center who saw consistent growth in his game. He did struggle at times in the face-off circle, but he always came in clutch when the team needed him most:

Stepan, though, had a Full No Trade Clause going into effect at the beginning of this season. It makes sense why the Rangers would want to move him, as the team freed up $7.5 million in cap space alone. The return brought back the #7 overall pick (which turned into Swedish center Lias Andersson) and 21 year old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who has a cap hit of $863,333 both this year and next. After these moves and the buyout of longtime defenseman Dan Girardi, the Rangers were sitting with $21,350,556 of salary cap room (28.467% of the cap). After the signing of Matt Puempel and Brendan Smith, the Rangers are now sitting at $16,275,556 of cap space (21.701% of the cap).

Now there is a very likely possibility that defenseman Kevin Klein retires before this season, should he do that, the Rangers will free up another $2,900,000 of cap space, and the team makeup would look like this:

So the real question is, what can the Rangers do with just under $20 million in cap space?

Well first they must re-sign restricted free agent Mika Zibanejad, the 23 year old center acquired last season in a trade with Ottawa which sent away Derick Brassard. There is a lot of speculation as to which direction the Rangers will go with Zibanejad: will they go bridge deal or lock him up long term? And how much money is he worth, especially with this market? It is essentially certain that the Rangers will re-sign Zibanejad, but at what price?

Restricted free agent Jesper Fast is next on the list to re-sign with the Rangers. The fourth line winger thrived in the playoffs along with now former teammate Oscar Lindberg and, barring a shock, will be re-signed with the team. Fast shouldn’t demand much, but you do not want to overpay for a bottom six winger, especially with the names out there slated to feel the market on July 1st.

Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are two names being thrown around with the team. Both 37 year olds are (obviously) on the tail ends of their careers, but could be bridge players for the Rangers for the right price. Thornton has produced at least 50 points in three of his last four seasons, including last year when he averaged 1.00 points per game. Marleau is a winger who has not missed a game since the 08-09 season and has scored at least 20 goals in three out of his last four seasons as well. I would be wary of signing these guys to long term contracts (and I use the term “long” very lightly), but could be effective in a one year, maybe two years maximum deal.

Kevin Shattenkirk is the big name guy. The offensive minded blue liner was born in New Rochelle, New York and has made it pretty obvious that he wants to play somewhere in the New York metropolitan area. The 28 year old defenseman is going to ask for a large contract, but with the free cap space the Rangers have, I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t offer him. The Rangers and Devils have been in the mix for Shatty and I think these are his final two teams to decide between, despite a reported large push from the Buffalo Sabres for him.

Regardless of how the Rangers approach free agency, they have options. With their cap space, fans can discuss many possibilities but ultimately, this is what the team needs.