Snapshots: Rangers, Boeser, Koivu

The Rangers appear to be sticking to their guns when it comes to their remaining restricted free agents in winger Brendan Lemieux and defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the team has no apparent inclination to move off the qualifying offers that they tendered back in June which were worth just over $874K each.  Neither player had salary arbitration rights which limited their options while they don’t have a multi-year track record to really command a bigger deal either.  New York is also tight to the salary cap which is playing a factor as well.  The duo could try to solicit an offer sheet where the compensation thresholds would be low but beyond that, it appears the waiting game for these two will continue.

Elsewhere around the league:

• While the contract Canucks RFA winger Brock Boeser is seeking is believed to be similar to that of San Jose winger Timo Meier, don’t expect it to have a similar structure. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma notes that the asking price remains four years at a $7MM AAV (Meier came in at four years at $6MM per), but GM Jim Benning isn’t a fan of the back-loaded structure that creates a highly-inflated qualifying offer at its expiration.  A four-year deal would carry some risk in that it would take him a year away from UFA eligibility but at the same time, it would carry a lower AAV which would be helpful given their salary cap situation.
• Wild center Mikko Koivu expects to be ready for training camp after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus and ACL last season, reports Jessi Pierce of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, it’s likely that he will be limited during the preseason as a precaution. The 36-year-old is entering the final year of his contract which carries a $5.5MM cap hit and with his output dipping in recent years, it will be interesting to see if the 14-year veteran will get a chance to stay with the only NHL team he has ever known or if new GM Bill Guerin will opt to move on.