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New York Rangers Expected To Sign Andy Welinski

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According to CapFriendly, the New York Rangers have signed defenseman Andy Welinski to a one-year, two-way contract (link). The contract is worth $750K at the NHL level and $400K in the minors. The right-handed defenseman will serve as veteran depth for a Rangers team that had to part with some of their’s earlier today.

A third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2011, Welinski has played parts of three NHL seasons, all with Anaheim. Welinski spent four years as a rock-solid defenseman for the University of Minnesota-Duluth before turning pro after the 2015-16 NCAA season. He would spend two full years with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, making his NHL debut during that second season in 2017-18. Welinski split 2018-19 between San Diego and Anaheim, returning to the AHL full-time in 2019-20, splitting 2020-21 once again, getting into just 16 games between both levels. The 29-year-old spent all of last season with the Stockton Heat in the Calgary Flames organization.

On a two-way contract, Welinski is a smart addition for the Rangers, who traded defenseman Patrik Nemeth away earlier today and lost Justin Braun in free agency as well. Though the organization has strong defensive depth between their stars and their prospects, the team did have to rely on depth this year at times too. Between yesterday’s Libor Hajek extension and today’s Welinski deal, the Rangers should have plenty of reserves should they deal with an abundance of injuries.

Jaroslav Halak, Louis Domingue Sign With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have found their backup. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports the team has signed veteran Jaroslav Halak to serve as the backup to Igor Shesterkin. According to CapFriendly, the deal is worth $1.55MM, which includes a $1.25MM base, a $250K signing bonus, and $50K in performance bonuses for wins and save-percentage (link). The deal also carries a full no-movement clause.

The team also announced the acquisition of Louis Domingue to be their third-string netminder on a two-year contract. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports it’s a $775,000 cap hit for Domingue, with him earning $750,000 in 2022-23 and $800,000 in 2023-24.

The two deals reinforce the importance of goaltending depth and its place in this year’s offseason market. Halak would represent one of the league’s best true backup goaltenders and Domingue one of the league’s best third-string goaltenders, which is great for the Rangers, but more interesting considering the starter is current Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. Despite having one of the best goaltenders in the world, the Rangers have committed $2.32MM to their goaltending today, while fighting the salary cap, and one might still consider these to be under-the-radar compared to other goaltender deals this offseason.

Halak will be returning to New York, where he spent four seasons as a member of the New York Islanders, this time playing for the bitter crosstown rivals. The 37-year-old spent this past season as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, suiting up for 17 games where he posted a .903 save-percentage and 2.94 goals-against average.

Domingue is an interesting addition for the Rangers, the goaltender nearly eliminating the team himself back in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Having played just two regular seasons games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Domingue suited up for six playoffs games following injuries to Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith, winning three of them, with the team ultimately losing in seven games to New York after Jarry returned for game seven. Now, the Rangers will have a chance to experience having Domingue on their side of the ice.

Arizona Coyotes Acquire Patrik Nemeth

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The Arizona Coyotes have helped relieve a tight cap situation in New York. They’ve acquired defenseman Patrik Nemeth from the New York Rangers, along with a 2025 second-round pick and conditional 2026 second-round pick, in exchange for Ty Emberson.

From New York’s perspective, the motives behind this move are clear. With the signing of Vincent Trocheck at a $5.625MM cap hit, the Rangers desperately needed to clear cap space in order to have enough room to ink their two important restricted free agents: Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. Nemeth’s $2.5MM cap hit was a major barrier to their ability to get those deals done, so they’ve decided to pay a pretty hefty price in order to clear his deal off their books. The Rangers have paid the Coyotes a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 second-rounder (that the Coyotes can choose to make a 2024 third-rounder) in exchange for defenseman Ty Emberson and the Coyotes taking on Nemeth’s deal.

Nemeth never quite worked out in New York, and quickly lost the trust of coach Gerard Gallant, who scratched him for the entirety of the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final. Nemeth’s defense-first game was more ineffective than it had been in the past, and his envisioned role sheltering fellow Swede Nils Lundqvist never materialized as Lundqvist was quickly passed on the Rangers’ depth chart by Braden Schneider.

In Arizona, Nemeth will have a chance to play in a lower-pressure environment than in New York. As recently as 2021, Nemeth was viewed as valuable enough for a team to part with a mid-round pick to acquire him, so perhaps he can improve his play well enough in Arizona to become a tradeable asset once again, especially if Arizona is willing to retain half of his salary.

For the Coyotes, acquiring Nemeth gives them two valuable draft picks for cap space they were unlikely to use otherwise. GM Bill Armstrong has spoken about his desire to “build” drafts well in advance, adding picks not only for the next two seasons but the drafts in the future, where picks can typically be had for a discounted rate. He adds two second-rounders (or a second-rounder and a third-rounder) here, although he does have to surrender Emberson, who was a top-75 pick at the 2018 draft.

In Emberson, the Rangers are getting a defenseman who just played his first full professional season since signing out of the University of Wisconsin. Emberson played 58 games and scored 11 points. Emberson is a defense-first prospect who got time on both of the AHL Tucson Roadrunners’ special teams units, including a solid amount of time on their penalty kill. The Rangers will likely have Emberson in Hartford next season and will see if he can develop into an NHLer down the line.

Overall, it’s an expensive price for GM Chris Drury to pay for such a recent mistake, and losing two valuable future picks could end up biting the Rangers if they want to be as aggressive at the 2023, 2024, or 2025 trade deadlines as they were this past spring. That being said, even though it’s an expensive price to pay, it’s a move they really needed to make.

New York Rangers Close To Signing Vincent Trocheck

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The New York Rangers are close to signing high-end center Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports the contract has a cap hit of $5.625MM. Trocheck’s extension is similar to the extension Ryan Nugent-Hopkins deal from last summer, meaning it’s a contract that likely has an extended term in order to keep the cap hit as low as possible.

The Rangers’ offseason was always going to revolve around their decision-making in the second-line center spot. The team has operated with Ryan Strome there for the past four seasons, and now Artemi Panarin gets a different running mate for the foreseeable future. There were some who speculated that the cap-strapped Rangers would prioritize cap flexibility and run with playoff hero Filip Chytil in the 2C spot, but GM Chris Drury went in a different direction.

In Trocheck, the Rangers are getting the prototypical second-line center. He can be relied upon for about 50 points of offense, with the upside for considerably more in the right circumstances. Next to Panarin, though, those numbers are likely to rise. Trocheck can also bring a sound defensive game and help the Rangers fill the hole left by Kevin Rooney, who operated as a defensive specialist for the team for the past several years.

This signing, given its cap hit, is a major risk for New York. Trocheck as a player isn’t really risky at all, he’s proven himself as a capable top-six center and should continue to be that in Manhattan. But the risk here is in New York locking up another veteran player to a long-term, pricey contract. Chytil and Kaapo Kakko need new contracts this summer. Alexis Lafreniere and budding star K’Andre Miller will need new deals next summer. Something will have to give, and it will be extremely interesting to see what Drury and his front office do in order to keep their young players on Broadway.

New York Rangers Re-Sign Libor Hajek

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July 12: The Rangers have made it official, signing Hajek to a one-year contract.

July 11:  The New York Rangers will bring back a familiar face to add to their depth in that of Libor Hajek. Per CapFriendly, the Rangers have re-signed Hajek, a pending RFA, to a one-year, one-way deal worth $800K (link). The contract will buy out a year of arbitration eligibility for Hajek and will leave him still an RFA after the upcoming season. Originally a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, Hajek came to the Rangers in the blockbuster that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller down to Tampa.

With the development of several quality blueline prospects in the Rangers organization, Hajek found himself without much playing time this season, getting into just five AHL games and 17 NHL games in 2021-22. When the defenseman did play in the NHL, things didn’t go so well either, producing just one assist and registering a minus-10 rating, the worst of his career, despite playing in as many as 44 games in previous seasons.

In reality, the defenseman has not been a bad player for the Rangers, but has fallen victim to the team’s development of defensemen like K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider, and Zachary Jones and acquisitions of Justin Braun and Patrik Nemeth. On a one-way contract with the Rangers, who figure to be hard-pressed against the NHL salary cap, making it difficult to retain Braun and perhaps necessitating a trade of Nemeth, Hajek could figure to see more time in the lineup, representing an affordable piece that has proven he is able to play minutes at the next level.

Offseason Checklist: New York Rangers

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With the offseason in full swing, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming weeks.  Next up is a look at the Rangers.

2021-22 saw the Rangers turn their fortunes around quickly.  A year after missing the playoffs, new GM Chris Drury made several key changes both on the ice and behind the bench and New York made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before being ousted by Tampa Bay, winners of two straight Stanley Cups at the time.  For them to have a chance at making it back to that point, Drury has some work to do this summer.

Free Up Cap Space

This is a common one for a lot of teams, especially as we reach this post of the series where we’re looking at the ones that went the deepest in the playoffs.  Generally speaking, those teams tend to have cap crunches.  Right now, New York has a little over $10MM in cap space.  Without context, that doesn’t look half bad.  However, they have about six roster spots to fill with that money, some of which will cost a fair bit to fill (more on those shortly).  They don’t have enough to fill all of those slots right now.

On top of that, winger Alexis Lafreniere, center Filip Chytil, and defenseman K’Andre Miller are all a year away from restricted free agency.  All three of them will be eyeing considerable raises while Chytil will have arbitration eligibility at his disposal as well.  Knowing that group will become more expensive has to be at the back of Drury’s mind as he navigates his offseason planning while it only increases the urgency for them to create some cap flexibility.  That said, roughly half the league is trying to do that so freeing up any sort of meaningful cap room is much easier said than done.

Add A Backup Goalie

One of those roster spots is for a backup goaltender.  Knowing they wouldn’t be able to keep him, the Rangers traded Alexandar Georgiev to Colorado just before the draft in exchange for a trio of draft picks, a decent return considering some felt he was a likely non-tender candidate because of his arbitration eligibility.  While they did well in that trade, now they need to replace him.

In recent years, the backup goaltender market has gotten considerably more expensive as more teams look to a platoon situation.  New York certainly won’t be doing that with Igor Shesterkin entrenched as their starter but his presence coupled with their cap situation will price them out of shopping near the top end of the market.  Instead, they’ll be looking at the more affordable end with veterans like Thomas Greiss, Martin Jones, and Jaroslav Halak being potential fits on one-year deals.  A trade with a team that has surplus depth (San Jose would be an option) would also be a short-term solution.

While they’re looking at goaltenders, Drury will likely want to add a second veteran as well, one to take Keith Kinkaid’s place with AHL Hartford if they opt not to bring the 33-year-old back.  If the Rangers decide to try to save some money on their backup slot, they could look at a pair of prototypical third-string options and see how things shake out in training camp to see who starts with the big club.  That would free up another million or so for other needs but such an approach would certainly be risky.

Bridge For Kakko

Three years ago, the hope was that winger Kaapo Kakko would be exiting his entry-level contract having established himself as a cornerstone piece of the franchise.  However, the second-overall pick in 2019 hasn’t been able to live up to his draft billing just yet.  He has shown some promising flashes but after an injury-plagued year that limited him to just 43 regular season games where he had 18 points and a postseason that saw him pick up just five points in 19 contests while ending with him as a healthy scratch makes it extremely unlikely that either side would be interested in a long-term commitment right now.  Even if they were, finding a dollar figure that would work for both sides would be next to impossible.

So, a bridge deal is what Kakko’s contract is going to be then.  Which route the two sides go from there becomes the question.  The more years on the deal, the more expensive it will be.  A one-year pact would give the Rangers the most short-term flexibility but would hand Kakko arbitration rights next summer when Lafreniere, Chytil, and Miller are up for new contracts.  A three-year deal would give both sides some security and a bit more longer-term flexibility but puts him a year from UFA eligibility so that’s not necessarily ideal as well.  The expectation is that a two-year contract, the most common bridge deal, is the one that will eventually get done with an AAV around the $2.5MM range.

Add Impact Center

Ryan Strome’s tenure with the Rangers hasn’t always been the smoothest (to the point where they pondered non-tendering him two years ago) but in the end, it has been a pretty good one.  He put up 195 points in 263 games over parts of four seasons with a cap hit no higher than $4.5MM at any time.  As far as second-line production goes, that’s pretty good.  It’s the type of consistency that eluded Strome earlier in his career and as he’s coming off a season that saw him reach a new career-high in goals with 21, the 28-year-old has positioned himself for another raise.  It’s one that New York might not be able to afford.

New York also added Andrew Copp at the trade deadline to lengthen their lineup and also to get an early jump on trying to sign him as Strome’s possible long-term replacement.  But with him seeking a contract comparable to Zach Hyman (seven years, $5.5MM AAV), it’s unlikely that Copp will be in their price range as well.

Chytil was the 21st pick back in 2017 with the hopes that he’d be able to emerge as a capable two-way middleman.  He has shown some upside at times but over the last four years, his point totals have ranged from a low of 22 to a high of 23.  That type of production isn’t enough to comfortably hand him Strome’s old job even though a full season with Artemi Panarin would undoubtedly boost Chytil’s numbers.

With the internal options basically off the table barring a change in contract demands, Drury will have to look elsewhere for his second pivot behind Mika Zibanejad.  Of course, the top free agent options in Nazem Kadri and Vincent Trocheck are going to land pricier long-term deals so they’re out of reach as well with New York’s current cap situation.  Finding someone capable of playing that role at a price tag that’s equal to lower than what Strome made the last two years is undoubtedly a tall task but Drury will need to find a way to fill that spot either through free agency or a trade over the next couple of weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Andrew Copp Reportedly Seeking Contract Similar To Zach Hyman's

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Rangers center Andrew Copp is coming off a career year that saw him record 21 goals and 32 assists in 72 games while he was better than a point-per-game player after New York acquired him from Winnipeg back at the trade deadline.  That has him setting a high price in extension talks as Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the 28-year-old is seeking a contract similar to the one that Zach Hyman received from Edmonton – seven years at a cap hit of $5.5MM.  That will be difficult for the Rangers to afford without them clearing out some cap space so it’s quite possible that Copp will hit the open market on Wednesday.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Alexandar Georgiev

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The Colorado Avalanche have found a new goaltender. The New York Rangers have traded Alexandar Georgiev to the Avalanche in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick.

This means that Darcy Kuemper is no longer expected to re-sign in Colorado, as the Avalanche go with a cheaper option to pair with Pavel Francouz. Georgiev, 26, is a pending restricted free agent due a qualifying offer of $2.65MM and is eligible for arbitration. Even if he landed a good settlement, it won’t match what Kuemper will likely be able to command on the open market, especially in a year with such a shallow pool of free agent goaltenders.

Interestingly enough, it appeared as though the Rangers were not going to issue that qualifying offer, which would have made Georgiev a free agent next week. With Igor Shesterkin in place and several free agents to sign, the team was expected to walk away from their backup if they couldn’t find a trade partner. By landing three picks, general manager Chris Drury has squeezed quite a bit of value out of the last few days of Georgiev’s tenure in New York.

In fact, his time there has been incredibly valuable, relative to the cost that the Rangers paid. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Georgiev played three seasons with the team under an entry-level contract, two more with a cap hit of $2.45MM, and now netted them three draft picks before he walked out the door.

With a .909 save percentage in 131 NHL games, he doesn’t have a huge track record of success but there have been flashes of brilliance from the netminder, skill the Avalanche will hope to nurture in Colorado. The fact that Francouz has shown the ability to perform at a high level can make them a worthwhile tandem, not to mention the fact that the team itself has been able to overcome poor goaltending performances in the past.

For Colorado, with this core, it’s time to push all the chips to the middle and try to repeat. The team now has no draft picks until the sixth round this year, and are already without six future picks as well. Given the relative youth of so many key players they can afford it, though a gap in prospect development like that can be a tough thing to overcome down the road.

Still, this leaves more money open for some of their other free agent negotiations. Nazem Kadri (UFA), Valeri Nichushkin (UFA), and Artturi Lehkonen (RFA) all played huge parts in the team’s Stanley Cup win, and are deserving of big raises this summer. With a goaltending tandem that could very well cost less combined than Kuemper will make on his own, there are a few more dollars to go around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule

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The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.

2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.

Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.

New York Rangers Extend Julien Gauthier

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It’s certainly not the free agent news fans were hoping for in New York, but the Rangers have finished at least one negotiation. Julien Gauthier has signed a new one-year contract extension for the 2022-23 season, avoiding restricted free agency this summer. CapFriendly reported earlier that the deal is worth $800K.

Gauthier, 24, still hasn’t achieved much at the NHL level but did play in 49 games for the Rangers this season. The 2016 first-round pick has just 18 points in 96 career games, not quite what the Carolina Hurricanes had in mind when he was selected 21st overall or what the Rangers believed they were getting in a 2020 trade.

A mix of size and speed that is difficult to find, Gauthier possesses many of the attributes needed to have success at the NHL level. It just hasn’t been put together to this point, though he might get a regular chance to change that this season. With so many Rangers forwards scheduled for unrestricted free agency–Andrew Copp, Greg McKegg, Tyler Motte, Kevin Rooney, Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano are all without contracts–there could very well be room for Gauthier in the bottom six.

Even if the team moves to try and extend some of those names, they’ll need inexpensive options at the bottom of the roster. There’s also a notable difference in Gauthier’s status this year: he is no longer waiver-exempt. That means if the team wants to send him to the minor leagues, all 31 other teams would have a chance to claim him and keep him in the NHL.

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