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Rangers Sign Alexis Lafrenière To Seven-Year Extension

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1:37 p.m.: Lafrenière’s deal has a front-loaded structure that includes an $8MM signing bonus when the deal goes into effect next season, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. He’ll have a no-movement and a modified no-trade clause go into effect when he’s eligible for it beginning in 2027-28, he adds. PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the deal, adding it’s an eight-team no-trade list for the modified NTC:

2025-26: $2MM base salary, $8MM signing bonus
2026-27: $5.5MM base, $2MM SB
2027-28: $8.5MM base, $1MM SB
2028-29: $7.15MM base
2029-30: $6MM base
2030-31: $6MM base
2031-32: $6MM base

12:42 p.m.: The deal will come in at an actual AAV of $7.45MM, per PuckPedia. That’s a total value of $52.15MM.

11:54 a.m.: The Rangers are closing in on a seven-year extension with winger Alexis Lafrenière worth just under $7.6MM per season, sources tell Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier Friday that talks between the Rangers and the pending RFA had “intensified.”

That means the deal’s total value will be in the $50-53MM range. It’s a contract that would have been inconceivable for the 2020 first-overall pick less than two years ago, a clear demonstration of how much he’s improved since the beginning of last season.

Trade rumors swirled around Lafrenière after his third season in New York. During that time, he’d failed to average over half a point per game at any stage – not an acceptable performance from a first-overall forward, even that early into their career. However, a coaching change brought Peter Laviolette behind the Rangers bench, who got Lafrenière more ice time by shifting him to right-wing after years of sticking on his natural left side.

In essence, he’s been stapled on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, a pair with which he’s developed undeniable chemistry. Lafrenière played all 82 games in 2022-23, recording a career-high 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points while averaging over 17 minutes per night. The trio formed the Rangers’ best two-way line last season that suited up together on a regular basis, controlling 55.6% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

The playoffs saw Lafrenière up his per-game production even further. While the President’s Trophy winners were bounced in the Eastern Conference Final by the eventual champion Panthers, Lafrenière tied Trocheck and Chris Kreider for the team lead in goals with eight and added six assists for 14 points in 16 games. He’s carried that momentum into 2024-25, lighting the lamp four times and adding three assists for seven points in seven games, still skating with Panarin and Trocheck and averaging nearly 18 minutes per game.

Lafrenière has now converted that production into a long-term commitment from the Blueshirts, who lock him up at an extremely affordable price through the 2031-32 campaign if he keeps up his recent offensive output. His deal will go into effect next season, keeping him from reaching restricted free agency for the second time in his career. The forward inked a two-year bridge deal worth a total of $4.65MM in August 2023, far less than what he’ll be making in a single season on his new contract.

He’ll be 30 when the deal expires – he turned 23 earlier this month. That allows him to cash in again on a long-term deal while being UFA eligible, although likely not as much as he could’ve garnered if he inked a five- or six-year extension with the Rangers. For New York, signing Lafrenière now likely provides a more affordable outcome than waiting until the end of the season, especially if he keeps up his point-per-game pace from the early going.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Reassign Chad Ruhwedel

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Oct. 25: Ruhwedel cleared waivers today, per Friedman. He was assigned to Hartford shortly thereafter, per the team.

Oct. 24: The Rangers have placed defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on waivers for assignment to AHL Hartford, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

If Ruhwedel clears and is assigned to Hartford, it will be his first AHL action since the 2018-19 campaign. The 34-year-old has been on NHL rosters as a bottom-pairing/press box option for the better part of the last nine years, spending most of his professional career with the Penguins. Ruhwedel was initially an undrafted free agent signing out of UMass-Lowell by the Sabres in 2013 but spent most of his time with Buffalo in the minors before signing with the Pens in 2016.

Ruhwedel logged some AHL time with the Penguins, making 33 appearances for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton across a pair of seasons, but was otherwise an NHL fixture. A serviceable, physical right-shot defender, Ruhwedel posted 47 points and 90 PIMs with a -7 rating in 326 games for Pittsburgh, averaging 1.73 hits per game. But with the Pens slipping out of the playoff picture and his contract set to expire last summer, they traded him to the Rangers on deadline day for a 2027 fourth-round pick.

The San Diego native mostly sat in the press box down the stretch of the 2023-24 campaign. He logged five appearances for the Blueshirts, posting a -2 rating and 15 hits with one takeaway, averaging 14:08 per game. He didn’t suit up at all in the postseason.

While he was a UFA for nearly two weeks last summer, the Rangers brought Ruhwedel back on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$400K). He was expected to compete for a roster spot as a No. 7 defenseman, a pathway that became quite clear after Ryan Lindgren began the season on injured reserve. But with Lindgren back in the lineup and rookie Victor Mancini catching the team’s attention in a bottom-pairing role with three points in his last three games, Ruhwedel finds himself on the outside looking in.

Ruhwedel had played once in the Rangers’ six games to start the year, serving as a healthy scratch for the other five. He skated 14:04 against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 19, recording a +2 rating with four blocks and two hits.

Justin Barron Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury, No Supplemental Discipline For Jacob Trouba

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After a blowout loss to the New York Rangers last night, the Montreal Canadiens are suffering an additional loss on their blue line. The team announced earlier that defenseman Justin Barron is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is likely to be re-evaluated before the team’s next game against the St. Louis Blues.

Barron’s injury stems from a massive body check delivered by Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba in the third period of last night’s contest which consequently ended Barron’s evening. The hit (Video Link) came with approximately 13 minutes remaining in the game with New York already holding a three-goal lead. Barron attempted to carry the puck into the offensive zone until he was immediately stopped in his tracks by Trouba.

It’s made clear in the video that Trouba came into contact with Barron’s head as a result of the hit which had a few members of the Canadiens’ organization seeking supplemental discipline for Trouba. Longtime veteran of Montreal, Brendan Gallagher, was publicly discomposed with the lack of penalty called on the play saying, “They had a clean hit on the ice, we have a hit to the head from a player that’s had multiple, multiple warnings. So, whether the league decides to do the right thing, whether he gets another pass, that’s up to them“.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported earlier that the league’s department of player safety won’t be issuing any supplemental discipline for Trouba. The league interpreted Barron’s chest as the main point of contact with the blow to the head being excused by Rule 48.1 of the NHL’s Official Rules which states: “whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not ’picked’ as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward“.

Rangers To Activate Ryan Lindgren From Injured Reserve

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Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will make his season debut tonight against the Canadiens, head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including Peter Baugh of The Athletic. He’ll need to be taken off injured reserve in the coming hours, but since he was already counting against the salary cap and the Rangers have an open spot on the 23-man roster, there’s no corresponding transaction necessary.

Lindgren won’t be entering the lineup in his usual top-pairing role, however. Laviolette added that he’ll pair Lindgren with rookie Victor Mancini, who’ll be playing in just his sixth career game tonight. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska-Omaha was a surprise inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong training camp and has a goal, an assist and a +3 rating through five appearances this season. He’s averaged 15:03 per game, playing a third-pairing role alongside either Zachary Jones or Chad Ruhwedel.

It’s not entirely surprising to see Lindgren taken off his usual top-pairing home, even if it’s just temporary until he gets back up to speed. The 26-year-old is coming off a difficult season that saw him log the worst possession impacts of his career, posting a 47.8 CF% and 48.6 xGF%. Meanwhile, K’Andre Miller has flourished early on this year after being bumped up to first-pairing duties alongside Adam Fox. The two have controlled 71.3% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck, and he’s got a goal and an assist to his name thus far.

Lindgren had been out with an upper-body injury he sustained in a preseason game against the Islanders nearly a month ago. It’s a delayed start to what will be an important season for the injury-prone defender, who narrowly avoided arbitration this summer with a one-year, $4.5MM agreement to walk him to unrestricted free agency next year. With Miller’s continued emergence and Lindgren’s declining defensive impacts, it’s unlikely he’ll be brought back if he can’t turn things around quickly.

While a 2016 second-round pick of the Bruins, Manhattan is the only NHL home Lindgren’s ever known. He was part of the return that sent Rick Nash to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline, and he’s since scored 10 goals and 70 assists for 80 points with a +99 rating in 333 games for the Blueshirts.

Alexis Lafrenière Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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  • Mollie Walker of the New York Post reported mild injury news for the New York Rangers sharing forward Alexis Lafrenière is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Lafrenière has been one of the team’s best forwards out of the gate with three goals and six points in five games while averaging 17:45 of ice time per night. With it being the last game of the team’s current three-game road trip, he may be on the shelf tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens depending on the injury’s severity.

    [SOURCE LINK]

How Do Recent Extensions Impact Igor Shesterkin’s Market?

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Since October 1st, Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman, Dallas Stars’ Jake Oettinger, Ottawa Senators’ Linus Ullmark, and Seattle Kraken’s Joey Daccord have all signed sizeable multi-year contracts with their respective teams. The ’white whale’ of them all, Igor Shesterkin, is looking to become the highest-paid goaltender of all time and it will be interesting to see the impacts of the recent deals on his market.

Shesterkin recently rejected an eight-year, $88MM contract offer from the New York Rangers and is reportedly seeking a higher salary than teammate Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM AAV. It’s clear that he’s seeking a $96MM deal but could go as low as $94MM just to ensure he becomes the highest-paid member of the organization.

The recent comparables to Shesterkin are that of Swayman, Oettinger, and Ullmark’s contracts although many would argue he is in a league of his own. Each netminder signed for an $8.25MM salary with the first two garnering max term. There is a very reasonable argument that Shesterkin is better than each netminder listed but is he that much better to justify a nearly 50% raise on some of the better goaltenders in the league?

An eight-year contract for Shesterkin would take him to his age-37 season while the contracts given to Swayman and Oettinger will take them to 33 and 34, respectively. Shesterkin debuted in the 2019-20 season while Oettinger and Swayman debuted a year later. He leads the trio in wins, save percentage, and hardware while Swayman holds the lead in goals-against average.

He’s failed to backstop the Rangers to a Stanley Cup Final to this point but he has made two Conference Final appearances while the combination of Swayman and Oettinger have only reached one. His case for being the best goaltender in the game is a solid one but it’s going to be difficult for the Rangers to give him a $12MM salary despite the accomplishments. New York’s contention window begins and ends with Shesterkin between the pipes but they’ll still need financial flexibility to put complimentary pieces around him.

Shesterkin’s main argument, especially concerning Oettinger, is the ever-growing issue of income tax-free states. Doing some low-stakes math, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period asserted earlier that Oettinger’s take-home pay in Dallas, TX would be approximately $5.22MM after taxes while a $12MM salary for Shesterkin in New York City, NY would net him around $5.29MM. Factoring in the cost of living in New York compared to Dallas one could reasonably ascertain Shesterkin’s justification for his asking price.

At the end of the day, because Shesterkin is such a needle-mover between the pipes, one team will likely step up and give him $12MM a year on a max-term contract. There are few present concerns that the contract won’t be with the Rangers but the recent goaltender contracts may drive a further wedge between the two parties.

Anton Strålman To Retire

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Longtime NHL defender Anton Strålman has retired, as noted by Robin Olausson of Hockey Sverige. Neither he nor the NHL Alumni Association have made an official announcement, but he’s now joined Swedish women’s soccer club Skultorps IF as a coach, Olausson said.

Strålman’s NHL career all but ended over a year ago. After managing to land a contract off a PTO with the Bruins in training camp in 2022, he failed to stick around at the NHL level, playing just eight games for Boston and spending a good chunk of the 2022-23 campaign in AHL Providence. A free agent last summer, he returned home to put a bookend on his career by suiting up for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League, where he had 16 points (2 G, 14 A), 10 PIMs, and a -12 rating in 48 games. He added an assist and a +3 rating in their relegation series against IK Oskarshamn to help them stay at the top level of the Swedish pyramid.

The 38-year-old was once one of the more underrated two-way defenders in the NHL. Drafted 216th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2005, Strålman broke into the NHL three years later. After a pair of seasons covering depth bottom-pairing duties for Toronto, he was traded to the Flames and then flipped again to the Blue Jackets in the 2009 offseason.

The move to Columbus is what truly jumpstarted his career. Strålman’s first season in Ohio saw him average over 20 minutes per game and break out for 34 points in 73 contests. He’d regress to a goal and 18 points in 51 games the following year, though, marking the end of his brief stint with the Jackets. He was non-tendered and became a UFA in 2011 at the age of 24, and he needed to wait until after the 2011-12 campaign started to catch on with his next NHL team – the Rangers.

In New York, Strålman’s game never popped offensively, but he did do well to establish himself as a reliable defensive presence who could shoulder second-pairing minutes. He averaged 18:22 per game in the Big Apple with solid possession metrics, posting a 54.3 CF% in front of expert goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist to lead to a cumulative +32 rating in 182 appearances for the Rangers, adding seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points.

That showing boosted his market value significantly heading into free agency in 2014, landing a five-year, $22.5MM deal with the Lightning that stands as the most lucrative contract of his career. His play popped accordingly in Tampa Bay, immediately making an impact with a career-high 30 assists and 39 points in 82 games before the Bolts marched their way to the Stanley Cup Final. Strålman maintained a high level of play in Tampa, averaging around 30 points per 82 games and logging nearly 22 minutes per game, with a cumulative +80 rating across his five-year deal.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a part of their three straight Stanley Cup Final runs from 2020 to 2022. He priced himself out of Tampa upon reaching free agency again in 2019, instead inking a three-year, $16.5MM contract with the intrastate rival Panthers. That marked the beginning of the end of his NHL career, and by Year 2 of the contract, he’d fallen out of a top-four role. He had nine points in 38 games for Florida in 2020-21, leading them to surrender a second-round pick to dump the final year of his deal at a $5.5MM cap hit on the Coyotes.

Strålman did have a brief resurgence on a thin Arizona blue line, rebounding for 23 points in 74 games in 2021-22 while averaging 21:20 per game. It was his best offensive total in five years, and his highest usage in four, but his once-sparking possession metrics continued to dip below average. He needed the aforementioned PTO with Boston to keep his NHL career alive the following year before heading home in 2023.

All told, Strålman finishes his NHL career with 63 goals, 230 assists, 293 points, a +46 rating, and a 51.3 CF% in 938 appearances while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. He made the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years with the Rangers and Lightning and totaled 26 points and a -4 rating in 113 playoff games. PHR wishes Strålman the best in the next phase of his career.

East Notes: Tavares, Woll, Lindgren, Aston-Reese, Red Wings

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Toronto Maple Leafs centerman John Tavares continued to sit out of the team’s practices on Monday as he recovers from illness, shares TSN’s Mark Masters. Head coach Craig Berube said that Tavares is close to a return, but wasn’t quite fit enough for practice today. Tavares already missed Toronto’s Saturday win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, replaced in the lineup by Bobby McMann and Steven Lorentz.

Tavares is taking on a much different look this season, no longer donning the team’s ‘C’ and taking yet another hit in ice time. He’s averaged roughly 17 minutes through two games on the year, continuing his slip from 18 minutes in each of the last four seasons, and 19 minutes in his first two years with the Leafs. The 2009 first-overall pick is now 34 and entering the sunset years of his career, but that hasn’t meant a lack of scoring, as Tavares continues challenging point-per-game production with 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games last year. He’s now totaled 420 points in 442 games with Toronto, including a career-high 88 points in 2018-19, his first year with the club.

In addition to updates on Tavares, Masters also shared that goaltender Joseph Woll returned to the ice before the team’s formal practice, with Berube saying he could practice tomorrow. Toronto placed Woll on injured reserve with a lower-body injury on October 9th. This marks his first return to skating, and notable progress as he looks to return to the role of starting goalie. In the meantime, Dennis Hildeby and Anthony Stolarz will continue to hold down Toronto’s crease.

Other notes from out East:

  • New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren returned to full contact at the team’s Monday practice, shares Vince Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. Mercogliano points out that Lindgren isn’t eligible to return until Thursday because of his IR placement on October 7th. Head coach Peter Laviolette shared that Lindgren’s injury was suffered in a fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, hence his full visor today. Lindgren recorded 17 points in 76 games with the Rangers last season, providing much-needed defensive accumen to the team’s top-four. He’ll get a chance to return to those top minutes when he’s eligible to return on Thursday.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets centerman Zach Aston-Reese was spotted at the team’s practice, though not a part of line rushes shares Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Aston-Reese exited the team’s Saturday game early following a high hit on his first shift of the game.  exiting the team’s Saturday game early, He’s gone without a point in two games with Columbus so far, though will certainly appreciate the chance to earn an NHL role after spending all of last season in the AHL, scoring 30 points in 61 games. Portzline points out that, should Aston-Reese sit, it will be Dylan Gambrell filling his role on the Columbus fourth-line.
  • Both forward Christian Fischer and defenseman Jeff Petry continue to sit out of Detroit’s practices with injury shares Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Both players are nursing upper-body, day-to-day ailments and are expected to miss Detroit’s Monday night game. St. James notes that their absence on Monday will allow Austin Watson to join the lineup. Albert Johansson will be the likely favorite for any vacant role on defense. Both Fischer and Petry figure to contribute depth roles when they’re able to return.

Shesterkin Wants To Be Top-Paid Ranger

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  • On the heels of Igor Shesterkin declining an eight-year, $88MM extension offer from the Rangers, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that the goaltender is asking for $12MM per season. Recognizing the team might not go that high, the 28-year-old wants to be the highest-paid player on the team which means he might decline anything below the $11.643MM AAV that Artemi Panarin has on his deal.  Shesterkin has a career 2.42 GAA and a .921 SV% in 214 games at the NHL level and will soon be the highest-paid goalie in league history with the offer he declined already coming in higher than Carey Price’s $10.5MM per season.

Rangers, Alexis Lafrenière Discussing Long-Term Extension

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The Rangers have a few high-profile pending free agents. While none of them eclipse the value of potential top UFA goalie Igor Shesterkin, 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière has finally broken out as a core piece of their top-six forward group. He’ll be an RFA next summer without a new deal.

While a report at the beginning of the summer from USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano indicated Lafrenière was unlikely to kick off extension negotiations over the summer, that wasn’t the case. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said late last night that they’ve been discussing different contract options for a few months, including an eight-year deal in the $64MM range.

That offer undoubtedly indicates the massive step in the right direction Lafrenière took last season. The two-time CHL Player of the Year was finally given a lengthy runway in top-flight minutes alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck last year after Peter Laviolette took over behind the bench, responding with a career-high 28 goals and 57 points in 82 games. It still wasn’t quite the level of production most initially expected him to provide, but if his 14 points in 16 playoff games to end the year were a sign of things to come, he’s looking at another significant leap forward in 2024-25.

The Quebec native is still just 23 years old (his birthday is today), and he’ll play his 300th regular-season game when the Blueshirts host Utah tomorrow. While he’s only produced at a half-point-per-game clip throughout that time, he’s also had enough NHL opportunities to demonstrate a linear development path offensively over the past couple of years. With a consistently positive trajectory entering his prime, an $8MM AAV may be a gamble worth taking on a long-term deal for Rangers general manager Chris Drury to keep one of his top players cost-controlled through the rest of their championship contention window.

Lafrenière is in the back half of a two-year, $4.65MM bridge deal he signed after his entry-level contract expired in 2023. An $8MM AAV would be nearly a 350% raise on what he’s currently making.

The Rangers could likely shoulder it without too much fanfare. That would give them roughly $67MM wrapped up in 12 players for 2025-26. While that would leave only $25.5MM to fill 11 roster spots with a projected salary cap rise to $92.5MM, most expect them to try and move the final year of captain Jacob Trouba’s deal at an $8MM cap hit after failing to do so this offseason. Suppose they get a long-term deal done with Lafrenière in that range. In that case, it shouldn’t severely handicap their ability to retain Shesterkin and refresh their depth as they gear up to remain in championship contention through the rest of the decade.

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