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Metro Notes: Strome, Flyers, Hanus

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It was obvious to anyone watching the Eastern Conference Final that New York Rangers forward Ryan Strome wasn’t playing fully healthy. During his end-of-season availability today, Strome revealed that he had suffered a pelvic injury midway through the regular season and managed it all the way through the rest of the season and playoffs.

What’s unclear at this point is whether surgery will be required or not. It’s bad timing for Strome, who could hit unrestricted free agency on July 13 if he’s not re-signed by the Rangers. Strome did express his interest in re-signing today, but it’s anyone’s guess whether or not that will come to fruition. With the bevy of Rangers prospects finally starting to emerge through the cracks, the team will have to make space for those kids somewhere. It seems logical from an organizational perspective that Strome wouldn’t be retained, especially with the acquisition of Andrew Copp.

  • The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco refutes the reports that the Philadelphia Flyers have narrowed down their coaching search. He does go so far as to say that the three rumored finalists of Barry Trotz, John Tortorella, and Peter DeBoer are still under consideration, but he makes the distinction that the Flyers have just two or three names remaining on their coaching search list. Whether or not an outsider to those three ends up with the job remains to be seen.
  • The ’Baby Penguins’ made some news today, as AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announced the signing of defenseman Clay Hanus from the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks for 2022-23. The Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate will add some solid defensive depth, as Hanus exploded for 74 points in 68 games this year. He’ll look to continue his development as an undrafted free agent with WBS and hopefully receive an NHL deal from Pittsburgh at some point down the road.

New York Rangers Sign Gustav Rydahl

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June 13: The team has officially agreed to terms with Rydahl on a one-year contract for 2022-23. However, financial terms were not confirmed.

May 16: Despite clinching their place in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night with a series-clinching overtime goal from Artemi Panarin, the New York Rangers have already begun their offseason work, adding to their forward group for next season. According to CapFriendly, the organization has signed forward Gustav Rydahl to a one-year, one-way contract for the 2022-23 season (link). The contract is worth $750K and will leave Rydahl a UFA after next season.

Unlike many signings this time of year, Rydahl is not a young prospect in the Rangers system; instead, he is a veteran of parts of nine SHL seasons, spending the previous four seasons with Farjestads. Rydahl, who will be 28 at the start of next season, has proven to be a reliable center for his SHL teams, though never being much of a point-producer until 2018-19 when he began to breakout. After accumulating just 20 points over 191 SHL games from 2013-14 through 2017-18, Rydahl had 12 goals and seven assists in 47 games in 2018-19. He would take another step forward in 2019-20, scoring 19 goals to go along with 16 assists in 49 games. The veteran would play in just nine games in 2020-21, tallying two assists, but rebounded strongly this past season, where he had 15 goals and 15 assists in 44 games.

In Rydahl, the Rangers will look for a responsible two-way center who can contribute on offense from time to time. Notably, the Rangers do have some salary-cap considerations this offseason, with Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad both due significant raises and forwards Ryan Strome Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano as important pending UFAs. The team has also failed to get consistent, strong production out of bottom-six center Filip Chytil, and while Chytil has not been bad either, they could look to move on from him and his $2.3MM cap hit for next season, replacing it with Rydahl’s $750K hit.

Looking At Kaapo Kakko’s Restricted Free Agency

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In what would prove to be their final game of the season last night, a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Rangers made the surprising choice to list forward Kaapo Kakko as a healthy scratch in favor of Dryden Hunt. It would be fair to say Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has not played up to projections so far in his young career, however given the team’s choice to scratch forward Ryan Reaves and the apparent severity of Ryan Strome’s injury, along with the developing chemistry between Kakko and linemates Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil, seeing Kakko sit was a surprise to say the least.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks, who covers the Rangers, wrote this morning examining an interesting parallel between Kakko and another Finnish forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi (link). Brooks looks at the similarities between the two players from being drafted, the hype around them, and their young careers, Kakko’s with the Rangers, Kotkaniemi’s with the Montreal Canadiens. Brooks also addresses Kotkaniemi’s healthy scratch in Games Four and Five of last year’s Stanley Cup Final in comparison to Kakko’s healthy scratch last night.

At the conclusion of Montreal’s season, Kotkaniemi would hit the RFA market, where he would sign a one-year, $6.1MM offer-sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes which Montreal declined to match, ultimately costing the Hurricanes a first and third round draft pick. After the two healthy scratches in the Cup Final, it didn’t appear that the relationship between Kotkaniemi and the Canadiens was irreparable, however Kotkaniemi was quick to sign the offer sheet, one that Montreal was very unlikely to match. As Brooks points out in his article, Kakko could feel a similar sentiment towards the Rangers.

None of this is a given of course, but if Kakko was interested in a change of organization, choosing to shop his talents when free agency opens on July 13th, the Rangers would be put in an awkward position if Kakko were to be offered a deal like Kotkaniemi. The Rangers have just under $13.5MM in available cap space this offseason, needing to re-sign the likes of Strome, Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano, amongst others. Brooks suggests a two-year bridge deal worth $2MM to $2.5MM per season is appropriate for Kakko this offseason, but if he were to get an offer in the range of $4.2MM to $6.3MM per season on the open-market, that would net the Rangers only the same first and third round draft picks Montreal received for Kotkaniemi.

Circling back, the Rangers could afford to match that number, but they have K’Andre Miller and Lafreniere as expiring RFAs next offseason, both of whom would be due significant raises over their ELC contracts. If the Rangers were put in this position, the one Montreal faced last offseason, they may be forced to take the draft picks.

All of this to say, with the Rangers offseason less than a day old at publishing, things are unknown and the ultimate reason for Kakko’s scratch remains a mystery, and any hurt feelings could be a moot point. Interestingly, when ESPN’s Emily Kaplan asked Rangers head coach  Gerard Gallant to elaborate on why he scratched Kakko, Gallant refused to give an answer. Kakko’s future is his own, and to an extent the Rangers’ too, but the parallel to Kotkaniemi’s situation, in recency, in on-ice performance, in being healthy scratched for the team’s biggest game of the season, and now contractually, is incredibly interesting and something to keep an eye on.

New York Rangers Extend Vitali Kravtsov

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With the New York Rangers’ season now over, the team has gotten to work quickly on its business for the offseason. This morning, their first move was revealed. Dan Milstein’s Gold Star Hockey announced today that winger Vitali Kravtsov signed a one-year, one-way contract extension with the New York Rangers. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the one-year deal carries an $875k cap hit, which is a decrease from the $925k cap hit he carried on his entry-level deal as a top-ten pick. CapFriendly notes that Kravtsov’s qualifying offer would have been $874,125, meaning this contract is an ever-so-slight raise on that figure.

Kravtsov returns to North America after a reasonably successful, albeit limited stint in the KHL. Between the regular season and the playoffs, Kravtsov got into 34 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk, netting 13 goals and 23 points. Kravtsov originally left for the KHL at the start of this season after failing to make the Rangers’ team out of training camp, and his reportedly strained relationship with Rangers GM Chris Drury was thought to be a factor in creating his steadfast resistance towards continuing his development with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. While that resistance to taking the developmental path the organization likely preferred for him has made him a bit of a controversial prospect, Kravtsov’s potential is undeniable. The six-foot-two, 187-pound winger boasts a rare combination of size and skill and is coming off of a productive season in the KHL. Kravtsov was originally drafted ninth overall at the 2018 draft, and he is likely hoping that it’s on this one-year contract that he establishes himself as an NHL regular similar to how fellow 2018 first-rounder K’Andre Miller has established himself over the past two seasons in New York.

Given the relatively uncertain state of the Rangers’ right wingers going into next season, Kravtsov could have a strong opportunity to earn an NHL job and hold onto it. The Rangers are not overflowing with cap space and both of the players who play right wing on the team’s top two lines (Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp) are pending unrestricted free agents. Since it’s unlikely that the Rangers will be able to hold onto all of their pending free agents, Kravtsov’s $875k cap hit could end up working to his advantage in the fall as he fights for a role on the team.

It remains to be seen what Kravtsov ultimately becomes at the NHL level, but today’s extension confirms that he is going to enter next season with the firm intention of finally cementing himself as an NHL regular.

Sammy Blais Won't Play Tonight

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  • While Rangers forward Sammy Blais has resumed skating, Newsday’s Colin Stephenson relays that he will not be available for the sixth game of their series tonight in Tampa Bay. The 25-year-old tore his ACL back in November and would be a welcome addition to New York’s bottom six but he hasn’t received the green light to return just yet.  The 25-year-old had four assists and 37 hits in 14 regular season contests.

NHL Announces Stanley Cup Final Schedule Scenarios

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With time winding down on the Eastern Conference Final and the Colorado Avalanche already punching their ticket through, the NHL is beginning to prepare for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Today, the league announced the schedule scenarios for the penultimate series, which is dependent on whether the Eastern Conference Final goes to six or seven games.

If the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hold a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final, win Game 6 and advance tomorrow night, the Cup Final will commence on Wednesday, June 15th. If the New York Rangers force a Game 7, the series will begin Saturday, June 18. In either scenario, every Stanley Cup Final game will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT.

The Colorado Avalanche, who missed out on the Presidents’ Trophy this season by just three points, hold the home-ice advantage in both scenarios. The last possible day for the 2021-22 NHL season is Thursday, June 30, which is when Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final would occur if the Eastern Conference Final stretches to seven games.

The games are spaced evenly, and played every other day, aside from Games 1 and 2 of the six-game Eastern Conference Final scenario, where Tampa Bay and Colorado would play Game 1 on June 15 and wait until June 18 to play Game 2. In the United States, the 2022 Stanley Cup Final will be broadcast on ABC for the first time in 18 years.

Ryan Strome Expected To Play Game Four

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  • Ryan Strome will be back in the New York Rangers lineup tomorrow night according to head coach Gerard Gallant, who told reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com that “he should be fine to go.” Strome left yesterday’s game partway through the second period and finished with just over seven minutes of ice time in the loss. The Rangers are looking to take a stranglehold in the series before they head back home for game five and Strome has been a big part of their success so far. The pending free agent center is averaging nearly 19 minutes a night and has eight points through 17 games.

Vitali Kravtsov Turns Down Offer In KHL; Eyes NHL Return

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  • Vitali Kravtsov, another prospect that hasn’t quite panned out just yet, has apparently turned down an offer from the KHL as he eyes a return to North America. The 22-year-old winger is a pending restricted free agent but will still be under control of the New York Rangers, should they issue him a qualifying offer. In his partial season with Traktor this year, Kravtsov proved he can play to a high level in the KHL, scoring 13 goals and 23 points in a combined 34 games.

Ryan Strome Exits Game Three Of Eastern Conference Final With Injury

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  • New York Rangers forward Ryan Strome left today’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an apparent injury. Strome took a hit from Tampa’s Ondrej Palat in the second period and immediately appeared to be in distress, heading straight down the tunnel. The Rangers forward was absent for several minutes before returning to take one shift, but indicated to trainers that he could not continue, heading back to the locker room shortly thereafter. In Strome, the Rangers lose a key top-six forward and member of their powerplay; after a 54-point regular season, Strome has added another nine points in 16 playoff games heading into today’s action. Time will tell how significant Strome’s injury is, and though he is yet to be ruled out for the remainder of this game, his initial return only to quickly exit again is not a good sign for the Rangers.

Injury Notes: Price, Point, Kuemper

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After playing only five games this season, Carey Price is preparing to get back on the ice with the Montreal Canadiens, as he said today. However, his status is still unknown. The 34-year-old had a Platelet-Rich Plasma injection in his knee and is waiting for it to take hold before he gets back to training and preparing. The netminder said that “I wish I felt better about the situation, but I don’t.”

Price had knee surgery in the 2021 offseason and the injury got reaggravated this season after he returned from personal leave to participate in the NHLPA Player Assistance program. In April, he had a meeting with his surgeon in Manhattan and is now under treatment. Being without their number one goaltender for the next season is a reason for concern for the Montreal Canadiens. If he doesn’t recover in time, they will have to make a plan and go after a goaltender this offseason with Price on LTIR.

  • Tampa Bay fans can celebrate, albeit hesitantly. Forward Brayden Point was doing drills in practice for the first time since his injury in Game 7 in Toronto, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. He participated for 55 minutes, doing drills with the taxi squad. While this is not an indicator that he could be back for Game 3, it’s still good news for the team. It can be a needed boost for the current Stanley Cup champions in the series against the Rangers if he’s able to get back.
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that Darcy Kuemper’s injury doesn’t seem too serious, but that backup netminder Pavel Francouz will likely start Game 3 in any event. Francouz is coming off a 24-save shutout in Game 2 that sparked the Avs to a 2-0 series lead.

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