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Jimmy Vesey Re-Signs With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have avoided arbitration with one of their restricted free agents, signing Jimmy Vesey to a two-year contract worth a total of $4.55MM. Vesey was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 30th, which will no longer be necessary.

Vesey, 25, probably has more name recognition than most middle-six wingers in the league that are coming off back-to-back seasons with fewer than 30 points. That’s because of the saga that unfolded in the summer of 2016, when Vesey told the Nashville Predators he wouldn’t sign with them coming out of college. Even after trading a third-round pick for his rights the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t convince him to sign, and Vesey eventually became an unrestricted free agent. Despite connections to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, a then 23-year old Vesey decided to sign with the New York Rangers and was immediately inserted into their lineup.

In the two years since exiting Harvard following his Hobey Baker-winning season, Vesey has scored 33 goals and 55 points in 159 games. While that is fine production for a player that cost the Rangers nothing but an entry-level contract, it’s not quite what people were expecting when he was one of the most talked about stories of the 2016 offseason. There’s an obvious knack for goal scoring in Vesey, but there hasn’t been a consistent enough offensive or defensive presence to really consider him a key member in the Rangers’ quick rebuild. Instead he presents as a secondary scoring threat that is valuable and now reasonably priced at an average annual value of $2.275MM.

If Vesey is to really live up to the hype that surrounded him two summers ago, he’ll have to do it quickly before several younger prospects really make their mark and start demanding minutes with their on-ice play. Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson both received a taste of NHL action last year but could be full-time options for the team this season, while others like Brett Howden and Vitali Kravtsov aren’t far behind. Vesey will be an unrestricted free agent once again at the end of this two-year deal, meaning if he doesn’t show enough to justify a long-term contract this season he could find himself on the trade block at some point.

Snapshots: Rangers, Wilson, Mitchell

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The New York Rangers have hired David Oliver and Greg Brown as assistant coaches, rounding out David Quinn’s new staff in preparation for 2018-19. Lindy Ruff, a holdover from the last staff, will also be retained as an assistant. Oliver actually hired Quinn as head coach when working as GM of the Lake Erie Monsters, and even served as an assistant for him before the head coach was promoted to Colorado and then departed for Boston University.

Brown is coming in from Boston College where he has spent nearly a decade and a half, coaching elite collegiate talents including Rangers forwards Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. Quinn should be quite familiar with Brown from their days coaching against each other at the college level, and will try to bring a new enthusiasm and style to the Rangers as they continue to rebuild their NHL organization.

  • Tom Wilson is still without a contract, and according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post the Capitals preference is to work out a long-term deal with the power forward. The two sides have had “steady dialogue” and GM Brian MacLellan admitted that he’s the top priority right now. Even if a deal isn’t imminent, it’s clear that there will be something done to keep Wilson playing for the Capitals for some time. After a successful season with 35 points, Wilson really dominated in the playoffs for the Capitals and recorded 15 points in 21 games while making an impact physically on almost every shift. Selected in the first round six years ago with a hope that he’d turn into a premiere power forward in the NHL, the Capitals and Wilson are starting to see the results of his hard work.
  • Torrey Mitchell has signed a one-year contract in Switzerland, leaving the NHL after a decade and 666 regular season games. The 33-year old forward recorded 11 points last season while suiting up for 60 games between the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, but may not have received much interest in free agency. He’ll join Lausanne HC for next season to hit the ice with other former NHL players like Joel Vermin, Dustin Jeffrey and Christoph Bertschy.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Three RFAs

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The Colorado Avalanche are down to one restricted free agent remaining – defenseman Patrik Nemeth – after announcing three contract extensions today with RFAs. Goaltender Spencer Martin, defenseman Ryan Graves, and defenseman Mason Geertsen, whose deal had already been leaked, have all signed one-year contracts for upcoming season. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Martin, the most well-known of the trio, has been a mainstay in net in the minors for the Avalanche for the past few years. Martin has made 84 starts for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage over the past two seasons as well as three NHL appearances. Martin’s numbers at both levels are rather pedestrian, but the 23-year-old was Colorado’s top goaltender prospect until the team used a third-round pick on big Finnish keeper Justus Annunen this June. Between losing that title and the team’s additions of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz in net, Martin is facing a big season in 2018-19 with his relevance in the Avs’ system in doubt.

Graves, 23, was just recently acquired by Colorado at the trade deadline in a swap of defensive prospects with the New York Rangers. The big blue liner was a 2013 fourth-round pick who has produced well in the AHL to this point in his pro career, but has yet to get a shot at the NHL. Graves is far from a polished prospect but still has some upside to his game that brings both physicality and play-making ability.

Like Graves, Geertsen has also failed to make it to the highest level yet in his career. Similar to Graves in size and experience, at 23 Geertsen still lacks a pro-caliber offensive game. Last season was his first spent entirely in the AHL, as Geertsen has previously spent extensive time in the ECHL.

New York Rangers Sign Five Players

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The New York Rangers have officially announced that Chris Bigras, Steven Fogarty, Boo Nieves and Rob O’Gara accepted their qualifying offers and have re-signed with the team for next season. John Gilmour, who was eligible for arbitration but decided not to file, has also agreed to a one-year two-way deal. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post gives us each player’s NHL salary next season:

  • Bigras: $832,500
  • Fogarty: $708,750
  • O’Gara: $874,125
  • Nieves: $709,750
  • Gilmour: $650,000

Perhaps the player with the greatest chance at making an NHL impact among this group is Gilmour, who performed admirably in a 28-game sample last season. The Providence College standout signed with the Rangers in 2016 after failing to come to a contract with the Calgary Flames who had drafted him in the sixth round, and promptly found success at the AHL level. In 120 minor league games the last two seasons Gilmour registered 51 points despite the Hartford Wolf Pack really struggling to contend. In his brief NHL taste with the Rangers he recorded five points but registered positive possession statistics and showed off his strong skating ability.

That skating and relative youth—Gilmour turned 25 in May—are exactly what the Rangers are trying to bring to their defense corps as they navigate a rebuild, giving Gilmour an inside chance to play in the NHL this season. He is still waiver-exempt, but could potentially be a full-time player if he performs well enough in camp to impress new coach David Quinn who should be very familiar with Gilmour from his time in Hockey East with Boston University.

Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Oleksiak, Skjei

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With the team’s work with their restricted free agents now complete, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has time to work on more important projects for the team. The GM’s top priority is to attempt to talk to star Artemi Panarin and try and talk him into signing a long-term deal. Now, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Kekalainen intends to meet with Panarin in France on Monday.

Panarin, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, could become the headline superstar available to teams like John Tavares was this offseason. The 26-year-old originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded a year ago to Columbus to alleviate salary cap issues. He posted excellent numbers with the Blue Jackets in the first season, putting upu 27 goals and a career-high 82 points. He has already stated that he isn’t willing to discuss an extension “as of now,” and it has been suggested by his agent Dan Milstein that the Blue Jackets might be better off trading him now.

Kekalainen obviously hopes that he can either convince Panarin to consider signing an extension soon or be convinced that he will have to make a trade to get Panarin to a team that he wants to play for.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a three-year, $6.4MM deal a few days ago, but it shows how far the 6-foot-7, 255-pound blueliner has come, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Unable to break into the Stars’ lineup throughout the first five years of his career, he found himself traded to Pittsburgh where assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar altered his entire game like the franchise has done in the last few years with other blueliners such as Justin Schultz, Ian Cole and Chad Ruhwedel. Using film, they have worked on his defensive skills, penalty killing, his shot and his stickhandling to start and have high expectations for him next season. His offense has already started as in 47 games with Pittsburgh he posted four goals and 14 points.
  • Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down the New York Rangers restricted free agency dilemma, especially looking at what to do with defenseman Brady Skjei in regards to giving the blueliner a bridge deal or long-term deal. The scribe looks back to forward Kevin Hayes, also a restricted free agent, who received a two-year bridge deal, but now will cost the team quite a bit of money. Skjei, who is coming off a down year, might be better off with a bridge deal to see what kind of player he becomes over the next two seasons. However, a long-term deal might also be quite beneficial because it would come at a lower cost. Even if he doesn’t become more than a third-pairing defenseman, a low-cost long-term deal has quite a bit of trade value as well.

Rangers Re-Sign Rob O’Gara

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With the deadline to accept qualifying offers now just a day away, Rangers defenseman Rob O’Gara has accepted his qualifier, reports CapFriendly (Twitter link).  The deal will pay just over $874K in the NHL (105% of his base salary from last season) and $70K at the minor league level.

New York acquired O’Gara back in February from Boston in exchange for defenseman Nick Holden (who has since signed with Vegas in free agency).  Prior to the trade, he spent most of last season with the Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence, suiting up in 43 games while playing just eight times with Boston.

Following the trade, he became a regular on New York’s third pairing, playing in 22 games while averaging a respectable 17:10 in ice time.  Considering that the Rangers have not really done much to add to their back end this summer (aside from adding Fredrik Claesson), O’Gara has a good chance to reprise that role next season which likely played a role in him merely accepting his qualifying offer over negotiating a lower NHL salary in exchange for more guaranteed pay in the AHL.  If he fails to make the team, he will gave to clear waivers in order to go back to the minors.

Boo Nieves Re-Signs With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have retained Boo Nieves without a fight, as CapFriendly reports that the young forward accepted his qualifying offer and will sign a one-year two-way contract worth just over $708K in the NHL.

Nieves, 24, finally broke into the NHL this season and played 28 games for the Rangers throughout the year. The smooth skating center has size and speed on his side, but hasn’t ever really developed a scoring touch and will have to bring defensive reliability if he’s to carve out an NHL career. In the minor leagues, Nieves never registered more than eight goals in a season but did have some solid assist totals. That repeated itself in the NHL this season, where he scored just one goal but added eight assists in those 28 contests.

It will be interesting to see if he is given a chance this season with the Rangers, given that they already have plenty of NHL experience up front and top young prospects like Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson pressing for roles. Nieves is still waiver exempt for another season, but will qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer if he doesn’t see the NHL ice at least 51 more times this year. Obviously there’s no guarantee that he’d leave the organization, but if they want to keep him they may have to give him a chance.

New York Rangers Re-Sign Cody McLeod

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The New York Rangers have decided that the added leadership and toughness that Cody McLeod provided down the stretch last season is worth another go, and have signed the veteran forward to a one-year contract. No financial details have been released yet.

McLeod, 34, has played 738 regular season games in the NHL including 25 for the Rangers last season. The team claimed him off waivers from the Nashville Predators and played him regularly down the stretch. While New York is trying to become younger and quicker, McLeod should provide at least some level of professional accountability to the inexperienced prospects as they try to develop on the fly. He also gives the team a physical presence in the bottom six and a (perhaps only perceived) measure of protection against unwanted attacks on the team’s more skilled players.

What he doesn’t offer, is any measure of offensive production. McLeod has just 126 points in his long career, and registered just four of those last season in 48 games. He’s a brutal possession player, but won’t be asked to play the puck much during his stay in New York. Instead, he’ll likely be a part-time player that is only asked to hit the ice for 7-9 minutes a game whenever he does dress.

Rangers Willing To Take Ryan Callahan Even If Separate From An Erik Karlsson Trade

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  • From the same report, Brooks adds that the Rangers still have some interest in bringing back winger Ryan Callahan if Tampa Bay decides that they still need to free up some cap space for this season and next. New York will likely be seeking some form of draft pick compensation from the Lightning to relieve them of their $5.8MM per season obligation over the next two years.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Salary Cap Floor Should Not Pose Problems For Any Team In 2018-19

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The purpose of the salary cap in the NHL is to maintain a sense of competitive balance across the league. That means both limiting how much a team can spend, the salary cap ceiling, but also ensuring that every team is competitive with a minimum expenditure, the salary cap floor. Some teams, generally those in smaller markets or undergoing rebuilds, tend to try to toe the line of the salary cap floor, paying as close to the minimum as possible for their roster. In years past, some teams have even struggled to hit that mark, taking on injured players or overpaying players in order to pass the floor. It’s unlikely that any of the 31 franchises will face that problem in 2018-19.

This season, with a corresponding jump in the salary cap ceiling, the floor moved to $58.8MM. With the bulk of unrestricted free agency accounted for, just three teams currently sit below that mark: the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, and Winnipeg Jets. However, both the Rangers and Jets can immediately be crossed off as a salary floor concern. The pair are perhaps the two teams with the most potential salary tied up in salary arbitration this off-season.

The Jets currently have the lowest projected payroll in the league, with a 16-man roster that accounts for approximately $52.7MM. However, Winnipeg’s list of restricted free agents who have filed for arbitration include Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck, defenseman Jacob Trouba, and forwards Adam Lowry, Chris Tanev, and Marko Dano, as well as defenseman Tucker Poolman who did not file. Those six players could easily combine for more than $20MM in combined salary when all is said and done, putting the Jets well clear of the floor and closer to the ceiling. Defenseman Josh Morrissey, who is not arbitration eligible also needs a new contract. Winnipeg is far from a floor concern.

In New York, the Rangers sit at $55.8MM in projected cap committed to 16 players, just $3MM shy of the floor. They also need to re-sign a majority of their young core, with forwards Kevin Hayes, Ryan Spooner, and Jimmy Vesey and defenseman Brady Skjei having filed for arbitration. The Rangers could pass the floor by extending just one of those players, nevertheless all four. New deals for those three forwards still leaves New York one or two shy of a full roster as well, meaning more salary will come into the fold via promotion or an additional acquisition.

As for the Devils, New Jersey is already close to the floor at a projected $56.4MM for 19 players. Forwards Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen have filed for arbitration and the deals for both could be enough to push the Devils to where they need to be. Even if it doesn’t, the team will still need to sign non-arbitration eligible RFA’s Miles Wood and Steve Santini, whose deals should definitely be enough. New Jersey will likely be a team that hovers close to the floor next season; that didn’t stop them from making the playoffs in 2017-18, though.

Perhaps the only team who should be legitimately concerned about the salary cap floor next season in Ottawa. The Senators and owner Eugene Melnyk have made it no secret that they are trying to shed salary and come in as close to the minimum as possible. Right now, the team sits just $3MM above the floor at a projected $61.8MM roster for 20 players. However, that isn’t including the arbitration resolutions for both defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Mark Stone. Those two deals will put Ottawa well above the floor. Even if the team was to trade star defenseman Erik Karlsson, they should remain above the floor, especially with additional salaries likely to be added in the trade return. The one scenario in which Melnyk could succeed in dropping significant salary would be if both Karlsson and Bobby Ryan were to be traded away. The resulting $13.75MM loss in payable salary would more than offset the contracts for Stone and Ceci and likely the contracts of those players coming back as well, potentially dropping the team below $58.8MM. Yet, even in that case, the Senators’ efforts to fill out their roster after losing Karlsson and Ryan – either by promotion or acquisition – could easily be used to get back to that mark.

The salary cap floor was never intended to be used as a target for teams to hover above and spend as little as possible. The goal of the NHL is have each and every team be competitive, not simply trying to maximize profits. As such, the 2018-19 season has some parity promise as seemingly no team will struggle to get over the floor or have to use contracts for the old and injured to get there. For the first time in years, every team seems set to be competitive and comfortably over the minimum cap hit.

All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.com.

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