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Free Agent Profile: Vladimir Tarasenko

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This year’s free agent market was a tough one to gauge for teams and players alike. Another year of a tight salary cap situation for most teams, along with a relatively weak class of UFAs, made for some interesting decisions. Take gritty winger, Tyler Bertuzzi, for example. He didn’t get far into extension discussions with the cap-strapped Boston Bruins because he wanted a long-term deal but signed a one-year pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs just a few days into free agency.

But perhaps no player misread the market more than Vladimir Tarasenko, leading to the two-time All-Star being available on the market over two weeks into free agency. While he was reportedly close to a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the month, he changed his representation less than a week after July 1, restarting the clock on all pending negotiations. After a bit of a down season, scoring just 18 goals in 69 games split between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, the 31-year-old likely didn’t get any offers reflecting the level of commitment he was expecting.

Why teams wouldn’t want to take a longer-term gamble on the 2019 Stanley Cup champion is understandable. Shoulder injuries limited him to 34 games combined in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. While a return to form in 2021-22 (34 goals and 82 points in 75 games) revitalized his stock, a tough season for him (and the Blues) last year lowered it again, and his post-deadline stint with the Rangers wasn’t at his previous elite goal-scoring level, either.

Still, he is a six-time 30-goal scorer and brings a winning pedigree. He’s worth a spot in almost any team’s top six, although slightly sheltered minutes wouldn’t hurt. With Patrick Kane, the other marquee winger still on the market, not expected to sign until closer to the start of next season, Tarasenko is the best player available for teams looking to add a forward.

Stats

2022-23: 69 GP, 18-32-50, -14 rating, 8 PIMs, 169 shots on goal, 45.7% CF, 16:48 ATOI
Career: 675 GP, 270-304-574, +61 rating, 185 PIMs, 2,124 shots on goal, 52.5% CF, 17:27 ATOI

Potential Suitors

At his age, the likelihood of Tarasenko earning a long-term pact after betting on himself this season is small. Knowing he isn’t getting the compensation he initially set out to receive this summer, signing somewhere that gives him a chance to win a second Stanley Cup will likely be at the top of his mind.

The Hurricanes still give him the best shot of doing just that. Whether it can financially come to fruition, though, is another question. Carolina’s already backed out of one widely-reported transaction this summer, forcing the Philadelphia Flyers to go the buyout route with defenseman Anthony DeAngelo instead of re-acquiring him at half-price. The team is reportedly in discussions with the San Jose Sharks about acquiring reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, and top-four shutdown defender Brett Pesce remains without a contract extension. There are many moving parts still to come with Carolina, leaving a lot of uncertainty about their ability to fit in another UFA signing under the salary cap after signing Michael Bunting and Dmitry Orlov earlier in the month. Still, Tarasenko would add to what’s already one of the most terrifyingly deep forward groups in the league and, if healthy, could provide the sniper element sorely missing from their recent string of playoff runs.

Another team connected to Tarasenko is the Ottawa Senators, who have an Alex DeBrincat-sized hole in their top six after trading the young winger to the Detroit Red Wings. There are similar financial holdups there, though, as CapFriendly lists them with roughly $5MM in projected space for next season while still needing a new contract for center Shane Pinto. Receiving Dominik Kubalik in return from Detroit gives Ottawa a solid secondary scoring option. Still, he’s been quite streaky throughout his brief NHL career, and Tarasenko provides a high-end, veteran backup option if Kubalik doesn’t pan out in Canada’s capital. Ottawa is a team hungry to make their postseason appearance in six years, and adding Tarasenko could push them right back into the conversation of playoff hopefuls in the Atlantic Division.

The New York Rangers would also love to have Tarasenko back in the fold as a more experienced, higher-ceiling scoring option than some of their other depth names, but they’re in a more dire financial situation than both Carolina and Ottawa. Finding a way to move out or reduce Barclay Goodrow’s cap hit ($3.64MM through 2026-27) could open up some options for them, though.

Projected Contract

Unfortunately for Tarasenko, playing the waiting game has likely cost him a lot of cash in a tight market. Don’t expect him to sign a deal much longer than three seasons when he does sign, and it could very well come in under the $5MM mark per season, given the lack of financial flexibility available among contenders.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Should Rangers Play Young Forwards More To Start Next Season?

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The cap situation for the Rangers has limited them for the most part this summer.  Accordingly, Larry Brooks of the New York Post opines that the best chance they have to take a step forward next season might be to take a step back out of the gate and give their young trio of Alexis Lafreniere (still an unsigned restricted free agent), Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil extended looks in offensive roles.  With a forward group that skews older otherwise, New York’s best chance for offensive growth might very well be those three younger options taking a step forward in their development.  The Rangers are certainly in win-now mode which might make it seem counter-intuitive to potentially have some early struggles while evaluating those players in those roles but if they can hit another gear offensively, they could certainly be dangerous offensively when the playoffs come around.

  • The Sabres have reached a new ECHL affiliation agreement for next season as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that Buffalo will be partnered up with Jacksonville, formerly an affiliate of the Rangers. Buffalo had been with Cincinnati since 2017 but needed a new one when the Rangers signed with that franchise; this move basically makes it a trade of affiliates.  A press conference is scheduled for Monday to make it official.

New York Rangers Sign Ty Emberson

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The New York Rangers have negotiated a new contract for one of their more underrated defensive prospects, signing Ty Emberson to a one-year contract extension for 2023-24. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 23-year-old Emberson had a breakout development season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, his first season there after the Rangers acquired him last summer from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for them taking the final two seasons of defenseman Patrik Nemeth’s contract, which Arizona bought out last month. He posted career-highs across the board, tallying seven goals and 27 points in 69 games, and was also named the best defensive defenseman in the AHL’s Eastern Conference.

He earned those honors by playing consistent top-four minutes for Hartford all season long and finishing second on the team with a +17 rating. Arizona had selected the 6-foot-1 right-shot defender with the 73rd overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

The Wisconsin-born Emberson likely isn’t a candidate to make the Rangers out of camp yet, and might actually slip down the depth chart in Hartford after the Rangers signed Connor Mackey and Mac Hollowell to bolster their AHL depth. That being said, he doesn’t get discussed as much as he should when talking about Rangers prospects, and he’ll look to keep up the strong two-way play in the face of increased internal competition next season.

Emberson will be a restricted free agent again next summer.

Sykora Hoping To Play Full Season With Hartford Next Season

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Rangers prospect Adam Sykora got a taste of playing in North America down the stretch last season, including four playoff games with AHL Hartford.  The 18-year-old spent most of the year in Slovakia in 2022-23 (producing 21 points in 39 games) and could return to that league next season but he told Mollie Walker of the New York Post that his preference is to play in the minors with the Wolf Pack.  Sykora was the 63rd pick by New York in the 2022 draft and has already signed his entry-level deal.  His CHL rights are held by Medicine Hat but it seems unlikely that he’d be sent to play major junior after seeing time in Slovakia’s pro league in each of the last three seasons.

Rangers Sign K’Andre Miller

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The New York Rangers have already had quite a busy offseason, bringing in veteran talents such as Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick, and Nick Bonino among others, yet they still have some important contracts left to sign. Both defenseman K’Andre Miller and forward Alexis Lafreniere were sitting without contracts for the 2023-24 NHL season, but the Rangers now have half of that list taken care of.

The team announced via a press release that Miller has signed a two-year, $7.74MM contract, paying him an AAV of $3.872MM. This seems like a fair deal for both sides, factoring in that Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Bowen Byram, signed a similar bridge deal last week.

In his first full season in New York, Miller became quite the positive force on the team’s back end. Playing in all 82 games for the 2021-22 season, Miller scored seven goals and 13 assists, playing just over 20 minutes a night. Miller also has a physical edge to his game, supplying the team with 151 hits in that same year. To add, Miller was one of a limited number of defensemen to have more takeaways than giveaways and also produced an oiSV% of 92.4%.

This past year, Miller’s offensive capabilities became much more of a factor in his game. Receiving much more time on the power play, Miller doubled his offensive output from the previous season, scoring nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games. His underlying defensive metrics did take a small dip but were still positive nonetheless.

Although signing Miller to an affordable bridge deal is great news for the Rangers, there are some negative externalities to this deal as well. Before the contract is officially added to their ledger, New York had around $6.18MM in cap space. Now that Miller has signed with an AAV of $3.872MM, this only leaves just under $2.4MM left in space to sign Lafreniere. Thankfully for the Rangers, Lafreniere does not yet have arbitration rights, so the team will still have a little bit of control on his next deal.

Alain Vigneault Announces Retirement From Coaching

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After a 19-season head coaching career spanning four teams, seasoned NHL bench boss Alain Vigneault has declared his retirement from coaching in an interview with the Journal de Québec, according to a report from French-Canadian outlet RDS.

Vigneault, still under contract with the Flyers after being fired in December of 2021, made it clear that his last contract would be his final one and that he has no intention of returning to coaching. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last summer that Philadelphia was likely Vigneault’s final stop as an NHL head coach.

The 62-year-old Canadian coach leaves behind a rather illustrious coaching career – Vigneault’s 1,363 games behind an NHL bench places him 15th in NHL history for most games coached. He accumulated over 700 wins throughout his coaching journey, a feat achieved by only nine other coaches in NHL history.

However, he didn’t quite reach hockey’s pinnacle, never getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Although he made the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons, he advanced twice to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in both tries.

Vigneault’s coaching tenure in the NHL began in the 1997-98 season when he took the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and finally, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vigneault’s primary piece of individual hardware came in 2006-07, winning the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Canucks after guiding the team to a 49-26-7 record and Northwest Division title. Vancouver would bow out in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, thanks to a relatively innocuous double-overtime winner in Game 5 from Ducks defender Scott Niedermayer (video link).

Vancouver was undoubtedly Vigneault’s most successful stop, as he would win back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies with the team in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Canucks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly two decades in 2011 but fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

Vigneault made it back to the Final three seasons later with the New York Rangers but lost all three overtime games in the series en route to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.

Before starting his coaching career, Vigneault had a brief playing stint as an NHLer. He played 42 games as a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s before transitioning to coaching at just 25 years old.

He does boast an all-time playoff record of 78-77, a rare mark above .500 for a coach without a Cup victory. With his longevity placing him in the upper echelon of all-time NHL coaches, as well as a Jack Adams and two conference championships, it wouldn’t surprise many to see a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in his future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Rangers Sign Mac Hollowell

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Per a team release this morning, the New York Rangers have announced the signing of defenseman Mac Hollowell. It will be a one-year deal for Hollowell according to the release, and CapFriendly confirms it will be a $775K, two-way contract for the young defenseman.

Hollowell, who recently went unqualified by the Toronto Maple Leafs, joins the second organization of his career, after having spent the last four in the Maple Leafs system. Originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Hollowell has spent much of his time playing for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Early last season, Hollowell got his first taste of NHL action, playing six games for Toronto in November. In those six games, Hollowell managed two assists, playing just under 13 minutes a night for the Maple Leafs. For the next two months, Hollowell was a frequent emergency loan option for Toronto, having been recalled a total of eight times between November and December.

In the AHL, Hollowell only skated in 18 games for the Marlies but still produced very well by tallying 13 assists. Unfortunately for Hollowell, his minor league season was very limited due to a knee injury suffered in January, which would keep him out of the lineup for the next four months.

New York Rangers Sign Erik Gustafsson

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The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Erik Gustafsson to a one-year contract, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $825k cap hit, according to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker.

The Rangers have been proactive in signing veteran players to affordable, sub-$1MM AAV contracts today, and Gustafsson is the latest one. They’re likely looking to clarify their financial picture before finalizing extensions for key RFA’s such as Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, or deciding on the future of highly-priced bottom-six leader Barclay Goodrow.

Rangers GM Chris Drury is walking a salary-cap tightrope, and with that in mind, this Gustafsson signing appears to be an absolute coup for New York. Just one year ago Gustafsson’s NHL career seemed to be in a difficult spot, as his 2021-22 season with the Chicago Blackhawks was a far cry from his earlier times in Chicago, such as 2018-19 when he scored 60 points.

But after signing with the Washington Capitals, Gustafsson had a resurgent season under head coach Peter Laviolette.

He stepped up after a major injury caused John Carlson to miss extended time, and finished his time in Washington with 38 points in 61 games.

He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored five points in 11 combined regular-season and playoff games.

One might have assumed that a 42-point defenseman could get more than a one-year, $825k deal, but Gustafsson’s inconsistency as well as the leaguewide lack of cap space likely put a damper on his free-agent market. So instead of truly cashing in and signing a pricey free agent deal, Gustafsson returns to Laviolette and places himself in a high-upside playing situation.

He’ll be competing against Zac Jones, Ben Harpur, and Connor Mackey for one of the Rangers’ final two defensive roster spots, and likely has the inside track for the third-pairing LHD spot next to Brendan Schneider.

His high-octane puck-moving offensive game could mesh well with Schneider’s more traditional style, and perhaps more significantly Gustafsson could also occupy a quarterback-like role on the Rangers’ second-unit power play.

The Rangers’ first unit is the dominant one, of course, soaking up the vast majority of available minutes on the man advantage, but at the very least Gustafsson provides a greater degree of insurance in case of an Adam Fox injury than the team had before this signing.

There’s certainly a risk that Gustafsson regresses and plays the way he did in, say, Philadelphia, where he was less than well-received by Flyers fans. But at an $825k cap hit, that risk is very minimal.

At worst, Gustafsson provides excellent competition for Jones and Mackey and injury insurance in case the Rangers’ top power-play maestro goes down with an injury. At best, Gustafsson gives the Rangers a 40-point third-pairing defenseman who is able to be utilized effectively thanks to the Rangers’ existing defensive depth.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Rangers Sign Connor Mackey, Nikolas Brouillard

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The New York Rangers have made two additions to beef up their defensive depth, signing Connor Mackey from the Arizona Coyotes and Nikolas Brouillard from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls to one-year contracts.

Both are likely destined for AHL Hartford next season, especially with the Rangers further fortifying their blueline by signing Erik Gustafsson to a one-year deal today. Both players were signed to a league-minimum cap hit of $775K, with Mackey earning a $400K salary in the minors and Brouillard earning a $225K salary in the minors with $275K guaranteed.

Mackey joins the Rangers with three professional seasons under his belt, spent in the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes organizations. He’s shown some solid offensive acumen in limited NHL time, and he was a member of Team USA at the recent IIHF Men’s World Championship. After recording 36 points in 53 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22, he’s destined for top-pair duty and heavy minutes in Hartford.

This is the first NHL contract for Brouillard, 28, who’s spent the last three seasons on minor-league contracts with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and done quite well, totaling 92 points (and 279 penalty minutes) in 168 AHL games. He’s obviously got a bit of snarl to his game and will join Mackey in Hartford’s top four on defense.

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