Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers
Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Rangers are more concerned with the latter than the former, with few impending UFAs of note but quite a few impact RFAs.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Pavel Buchnevich – Buchnevich is one of four of the Rangers’ top-twelve scoring forwards without a contract for next season, alongside Chytil, Gauthier, and Di Giuseppe, but is by far the most important. Buchnevich finished third in per-game scoring for New York this year, behind only stars Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. His 48 points were two more than his 2019-20 total, but in 14 fewer games. Buchnevich’s consistent scoring paired with his defensive improvements and success on both special teams units led to an increase in ice time to 18:44 per game, top line minutes again behind only Zibanejad and Panarin. Buchnevich timed this breakout year well; the 26-year-old forward is now a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This is not an aberration either, as Buchnevich has shown steady improvement throughout his career and is firmly established as a top-six forward with 20-goal and 50-point regularity. The Rangers will have no choice but to pay up, short-term or long-term, with an unfavorable arbitration decision, not to mention the animosity created by the process, as a looming threat.
G Igor Shesterkin – The Rangers may have two young goaltenders in the pros and a multitude of talented prospects in the pipeline, but make no mistake: Shesterkin is invaluable. The 25-year-old netminder has only played in 47 games across two seasons since coming over from the KHL, but has been superb with a .921 save percentage, 2.59 GAA, and a .611 points percentage in his decisions for a team that has played at a .552 clip over the past two years. Shesterkin is the best of the bunch in net in New York and the Rangers need to lock him up on a multi-year deal, regardless of his lack of NHL experience. Shesterkin’s arbitration eligibility ensures that they will have to pay him fairly as well. Shesterkin is close to unrestricted free agency and the worst thing the team could do is sign what looks to be a solid NHL starter to a short-term deal (or settle for an arbitration decision) only to see him continue to perform or even improve and then price himself out of town.
Other RFAs: F Filip Chytil, D Brandon Crawley, F Gabriel Fontaine, F Julien Gauthier, F Tim Gettinger, D Libor Hajek, G Adam Huska, F Patrick Newell, F Ty Ronning, D Yegor Rykov
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Brendan Smith – It wasn’t long ago that Smith’s contract was one of the most criticized in the NHL as he was buried in the minors in the first season of a four-year, $17.4MM deal with the Rangers. In the years since, he has somewhat recovered to become a good albeit still overpaid depth defenseman for New York. Smith has played in over 80% of the Rangers’ games over the past three seasons since his abysmal debut season, providing physicality and defensive stability and, for the first time in 2020-21, more secure puck-handling and a hint more offense. With a deep stable of talented young defensemen, the Rangers don’t need Smith. However, they could do far worse than someone with versatility, checking ability, and veteran experience as a depth option. He would come much cheaper this time around as well, as Smith is unlikely to have a competitive market as a free agent.
F Phil Di Giuseppe – At 27 years old with only 201 career games and 53 career points, Di Giuseppe has not much more than a depth option during his time in the NHL and likely won’t be. However, he proved to be valuable in that role in two seasons with New York, playing a gritty checking game and contributing some modest offense. Di Giuseppe’s success as a plug-and-play bottom-six forward is not limited to his time with the Rangers either, as some of his best seasons were playing the same role with the Carolina Hurricanes. As an affordable extra man, Di Giuseppe has value to the Rangers as an extension candidate, but he may be on the lookout for more opportunity rather than staying on a New York roster that is deep in young players in need of ice time and hoping to add more veterans this off-season.
Other UFAs: D Jack Johnson, D Darren Raddysh
Projected Cap Space
While Buchnevich and Shesterkin will earn considerable deals this summer and Chytil is deserving of a sizeable raise as well, the Rangers remain in good shape with the salary cap. They currently project to have $22.89MM in cap space with 18 players on the NHL roster, but that includes third-string goaltender Keith Kinkaid and cap charge for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who will be traded or at worst bought out in the off-season. A more accurate projection is closer to $25.5MM with 17 players on the roster. New deals for Gauthier, Hajek, and possibly Smith or Di Giuseppe (or replacements) should come cheap, leaving plenty of room to re-sign the key trio of RFA’s with room to spare to add another impact forward or two.
Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Trade Deadline Primer: New York Rangers
We are now less than two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New York Rangers.
The New York Rangers are a rebuilding team with a large assortment of promising, young pieces to build around. The team has been competitive this season, but is still a few pieces away from rounding out into a contender.
This is the description of a seller. The problem this poses to the Rangers: who are they supposed to sell? The roster is completely devoid of valuable impending free agents. Not one of New York’s UFA’s-to-be is at the top or even the middle of any buyer’s wish list. In a cap-strapped, expansion-affected, in-season trade market, the Rangers are also not going to make any major moves right now to shake up their roster or look to add those missing core pieces. The Rangers should be sellers; they simply have nothing to sell at this moment.
Record
16-15-4, .514, 6th in East Division
Deadline Status
Stand Pat (By Default)
Deadline Cap Space
$4.01MM in full-season space ($17.87MM at the deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly
Upcoming Draft Picks
2021: NYR 1st, BUF 3rd, NYR 3rd, OTT 4th, LAK 4th, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th
2022: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th
Trade Chips
A warning for the following: the word “chips” should be taken with a grain of salt – and nothing is worse than chips without enough salt. The Rangers’ trade chips are either under-seasoned or old and stale. New York could deal the whole bag for the trade capital equivalent of 99 cents. There is nothing to see here.
The most recognizable rentals on the New York roster are veteran defensemen Jack Johnson and Brandon Smith, two of the most maligned defenders in the NHL in recent years. Johnson has already cleared waivers without any takers, while Smith’s $4.35MM contract means he is unlikely to move.
Phil Di Giuseppe is the Ranger’s lone impending free agent forward on the NHL roster and their best available rental. The 27-year-old winger has eight points in 25 games, which isn’t anything special, but puts him on a 26-point full-season pace – a good value at just $700K. Di Giuseppe may not be a household name, but he has nearly 200 NHL games to his credit as well. Contenders could do worse for a cheap depth rental.
As for players with some term on their contracts, the Rangers could listen on forwards Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, or veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid. However, they have to be wary of the Expansion Draft exposure requirements and the repercussions that moving any of these players would have. Especially at forward, where the team already dealt away Brendan Lemieux, moving another term forward is a shaky proposition.
Of course, the big name on the block in New York is defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. With more than enough talent to command a nice trade return on ability alone, the fact is that if a DeAngelo trade was going to happen, it likely would have already. Some teams are wary of his character concerns, while others are not comfortable with adding his $4.8MM cap hit to their 2021-22 payroll. Either way, DeAngelo seems likely to stay put in New York through the season until he can be used as Expansion Draft fodder and then bought out. DeAngelo is too good not to play in the NHL again, but it won’t be this year.
Others to Watch For: F Jonny Brodzinski ($700K, UFA), F Anthony Greco ($737.5K, 2022 UFA), F Patrick Newell ($792.5K, RFA), D Darren Raddysh ($700K, Group 6 UFA), D Mason Geertsen ($725K, 2022 UFA)
Team Needs
1) Draft Picks and Prospects – Read: Mid-to-late-round draft picks and C- or D-level prospects. Sorry, Rangers fans. This is not going to be an exciting deadline. This is the best you can hope for. Hold tight until the off-season and wait for GM Jeff Gorton to try to swing a blockbuster for a top-six center.
Jack Johnson Undergoes Hernia Surgery
The season has come to an end for Rangers defenseman Jack Johnson as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner underwent hernia surgery on Friday. He’s expected to be fully recovered by June or July which technically would leave a small window open for him to be available if New York was to make it deep into the postseason, something that doesn’t seem likely at this point.
The 34-year-old signed with the Rangers in October, inking a one-year, $1.15MM contract after being bought out by Pittsburgh. He had a limited role with New York, suiting up in just 13 games this season although he did miss eight games due to a groin injury earlier in the year. His season will end with just one goal to his name while he averaged a career-low 16:58 per game.
Johnson cleared waivers back on Monday which makes the timing of this a little noteworthy. Had Johnson had the surgery while on the NHL roster, his full salary would have counted against New York’s Upper Limit. However, with the taxi squad being treated as if it was an assignment to the AHL, only $75K remains on the books, giving them a bit more salary cap flexibility to work with as they try to navigate a potential significant bonus cushion overage with so many players on entry-level contracts on their active roster.
Considering the limited role that Johnson had for them this season, it seems unlikely that Johnson will be brought back for next season. Instead, he’ll once again enter free agency where he may be hard-pressed to land a similar-priced contract given this surgery and struggles when he was in New York’s lineup.
Golden Knights Notes: Lehner, Fleury, Trade Deadline
The Vegas Golden Knights finally got presumptive starting goaltender Robin Lehner back on Tuesday, activating the newly re-signed net minder from the Injured Reserve. Lehner had missed more than a month, leaving veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to carry a heavy load in this season’s condensed schedule. There was some confusion as to why it took Lehner so long to return from what was initially considered a minor lower-body injury. Unfortunately, some of that speculation brought up Lehner’s previous struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues. Looking to set the record straight, Lehner spoke with the media today and revealed that he not only was rehabbing his lower-body injury, but had also suffered a concussion. Lehner noted that normally he would not have disclosed this information, as teams and players are not typically open about injuries beyond what is required, but he felt that needed to clear his name, even though he was disappointed it had reached that point. Fortunately, Lehner appears to have moved past both injuries and is expected to return to action shortly now that he is back on the active roster.
- As for Lehner’s partner in net, if former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would have had his way, Fleury would not even be in Vegas this season. Speaking with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe, Rutherford explained that he heavily pursued his former starter this past off-season. Despite a difficult 2019-20 season for the veteran, Rutherford was hoping to bring Fleury back to Pittsburgh to pair with young Tristan Jarry in the wake of Matt Murray‘s departure. Rutherford began planning even before the off-season began, contacting the Knights during the playoffs to inform them of his interest. Rutherford also stated that he even went so far as to buy out Jack Johnson primarily to open up cap space to add Fleury. At the end of the day, trade talks never went too far, with Rutherford implying that they could not make the cap implications work. However, Vegas owner Bill Foley also previously hinted that he may not have signed of on a Fleury trade anyhow. Foley knows that Fleury is the face of the Golden Knights franchise and could not be happier about it. For his part, Rutherford told Yohe that allowing Fleury to go to Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft was the hardest thing he ever had to do as GM.
- In just a few short years, the Golden Knights have shown that they are not afraid to make bold moves, such as signing Lehner to an expensive, long-term deal even with Fleury’s heavy contract already on the books. So, while the club looks to have few holes this season, don’t be surprised to see another eye-popping transaction ahead of the trade deadline. Even in what is shaping up to be a quiet trade market, TSN’s Frank Seravalli labels Vegas as one of just eight team that are considered to be legitimate buyers. He believes that they could target a top rental center to solidify their depth down the middle.
Jack Johnson, David Backes Clear Waivers
March 15: Both players have cleared as expected. Johnson and Backes can both be moved to the taxi squad.
March 14: It is a veteran-laded waiver wire today, as according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, David Backes and Jack Johnson have both been placed on waivers today.
Johnson, 34, has seemingly failed again in his latest bounce-back bid, this time with the New York Rangers. Bought out by the Pittsburgh Penguins in October, Johnson signed with the Rangers just a few days later for one year and $1.15MM. In 13 games with New York, he has just a single point, is averaging the fewest minutes of his career, and is once again getting caved in by all possession metrics. It seems clear that his time as a lineup regular should be over and perhaps it now will be with this waiver assignment.
If Johnson clears, $1.075MM of his cap hit can be buried by placing him on the taxi squad or assigning him to the minor leagues. If Vitali Kravtsov is indeed coming to join the team now that his KHL season has concluded, they will need some extra cap space to fit him in.
Backes meanwhile has seen this movie before, given he cleared waivers last season and again in January. The veteran forward brings great leadership and physicality, but just can’t keep up at age-36. In ten games for the Anaheim Ducks this season, he has two goals. If his play wasn’t enough to keep him from a claim, Backes’ contract is. The veteran is in the final year of the five-year, $30MM deal he signed in the summer of 2016 and still carries a cap hit of $6MM. Similarly, $1.075MM can be buried if Backes is placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.
East Notes: Pettersson, Hischier, Johnson, Miller
Slowly but steadily, the Penguins have been getting some of their defensemen back and it appears one more return is on the horizon. Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that Marcus Pettersson practiced today without contact restrictions and could be available to suit up against Washington on Tuesday. The 24-year-old logged over 19 minutes per game on the back end last season and would be a welcome addition to a Pittsburgh back end that is still without Brian Dumoulin and Juuso Riikola.
Still with the Penguins, goaltender Casey DeSmith was unavailable for a second straight day due to illness. Maxime Lagace is up from the taxi squad for the time being to serve as Tristan Jarry’s backup.
More from the East Division:
- While Devils center Nico Hischier remains on the CPRA list, there is some good news on his front. Corey Masisak of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that if it wasn’t for Hischier’s placement on the list, he’d be available to play. That’s notable since the 22-year-old has not yet played this season due to a leg injury sustained back in December. He’ll be a welcome addition over likely the next few days to a New Jersey lineup that sits 24th in goals per game this season.
- The Rangers could soon be getting defenseman Jack Johnson back in their lineup. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the veteran, who has missed the last three weeks with a groin injury, could resume practicing at some point this week. Meanwhile, fellow blueliner K’Andre Miller missed practice today with an upper-body injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s contest against New Jersey. The rookie has made an immediate impact this season and has four points in 13 games while averaging 19:34 per game, second-most among all first-year players.
Jack Johnson, Anthony Bitetto Sign With New York Rangers
The New York Rangers will see if they can squeeze some value out of Jack Johnson this season, as Darren Dreger of TSN reports they will sign the veteran defenseman to a one-year contract. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports the deal will be worth $1.15MM.
Rangers fans might not like it after watching Johnson flame out in Pittsburgh and require a buyout, but the fact was they needed some depth options on the back end. Since moving Marc Staal there wasn’t a lot on the left side, with only Brendan Smith signed to a one-way deal. Ryan Lindgren should also play on that side, but there are still minutes to go around alongside the Rangers excellent right side.
If he’s playing 20 minutes a night, Johnson is a disaster. But at just over $1MM and on a one-year deal, there is almost no risk for the still-rebuilding Rangers.
For Johnson, this is just another chance to show he can still hack it in the NHL. Now 33, he’ll already be earning almost a million dollars from the Penguins in each of the next six seasons, meaning this deal only supplements his buyout money. Getting a chance to play with the up-and-coming contender will be a treat, even if things haven’t gone well in his last two Eastern Conference stops.
Speaking of depth defenders, John Matisz of theScore also reports that Anthony Bitetto has also signed with the Rangers. His will be a two-year, two-way contract that will pay $725K at the NHL level in 2020-21 and $750K in 2021-22.
Pittsburgh Penguins To Buy Out Jack Johnson
The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed Jack Johnson on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout. Johnson has three years remaining on his contract, meaning a buyout will carry through the 2025-26 season. The full cap hits will be as follows:
- 2020-21: $1,166,667
- 2021-22: $1,166,667
- 2022-23: $1,916,667
- 2023-24: $916,667
- 2024-25: $916,667
- 2025-26: $916,667
Quite frankly, this contract was a disaster from the very first day it was signed. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford signed Johnson to a five-year contract on July 1, 2018 despite the veteran defenseman’s recent struggles with the Columbus Blue Jackets. When it was pointed out that Johnson had even been made a healthy scratch by the Blue Jackets, Rutherford told reporters:
I don’t think he had a bad year. He was a healthy scratch at the end of the season. I know the reason why. It wasn’t because of how he was playing.
That comment got an explosive response from Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella, who said Rutherford must be a “(expletive) magician” for having insight into the team’s decision making from “three hours away.” Unfortunately, it appears as though the Penguins have come to the same conclusion the Blue Jackets did.
Johnson, 33, recorded some of the worst possession metrics in the NHL during his time in Pittsburgh, struggling at both ends of the rink. In 149 games with the Penguins he recorded 24 points while averaging more than 19 minutes a night, adding zero in the seven postseason games he was included in. A third-overall pick in 2005, when Johnson’s offensive output declined his effectiveness went with it, to the point where it will be interesting to see if he even receives a new NHL contract.
Of course, he’ll be making money even if he doesn’t sign a new deal thanks to this buyout. The Penguins do save a little more than $2MM in cap space for each of the next two seasons (and about $1.3MM in 2022-23) but will have to carry a penalty for three extra seasons thanks to the unfortunate contract.
Morning Notes: Johnson, Murray, Predators
Jim Rutherford may be a bigger fan than most of Jack Johnson, but that doesn’t mean the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman will be in the lineup on opening night. Rutherford, the Penguins GM, spoke with Josh Yohe of The Athletic yesterday and explained that after acquiring Mike Matheson from the Florida Panthers there may not be any room on the left side for Johnson next season.
[Brian] Dumoulin and [Marcus] Petterson are still young and aren’t going anywhere. And obviously we like Matheson a great deal. He’ll play on the left side. So, that’s our left side. Those three. That’s it.
Rutherford suggested that Johnson could play the right side or is maybe “just going to be a depth guy” for 2020-21, but it certainly wasn’t the same vote of confidence he gave when the season ended. There is still lots of offseason left and the Penguins priority may be moving a goaltender, but make no mistake that there may still be changes coming on the blue line.
- Michael Murray has been hired by the Minnesota Wild as an assistant to the general manager, coming over from his post with the AHL. Murray was named vice president of hockey operations for the minor league in 2011 and was considered the second in command behind commissioner Dave Andrews. As Michael Russo of The Athletic points out on Twitter, Murray happens to be the son of Minnesota GM Bill Guerin‘s former agent. The team explained that Murray will help oversee the day-to-day of the hockey operations department and assist with contract negotiations, player development, and scouting.
- The Nashville Predators are considering moving one of their centers according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, who lists Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, and Nick Bonino on his latest Trade Bait board and mentions Kyle Turris as well. Nashville has an incredible $26.1MM in cap space locked up in those four, with only Bonino’s deal (the cheapest of the bunch) expiring anytime soon. There wasn’t a 45-point player in the bunch of them this season, with Duchene (42) coming closest.
Trade Rumors: Kuemper, Laine, Penguins
There are many factors that have contributed to Darcy Kuemper being one of the most talked-about names on the rumor mill over the last couple of months. The first and most important is simply that the Arizona Coyotes must shed salary this off-season. The team is arguably in the worst salary cap situation of any NHL club, lacking any room to maneuver under the cap ceiling but with several restricted free agents and superstar trade acquisition Taylor Hall in need of new contracts. One area where they can trim the fat is in net, where Kuemper and Antti Raanta combine for $8.75MM against the cap and Adin Hill is also signed to a one-way contract and will need to clear waivers this season. Of the three, not only does Kuemper carry the highest cap hit, he is also undoubtedly the most valuable on the trade market. The 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and is signed for two more years at a bargain relative to his performance. While this is seemingly a perfect storm of reasons why Kuemper should be dealt, new GM Bill Armstrong won’t let him go that easy. AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that after Armstrong was hired last week, the asking price for Kuemper went up. An offer must now surpass the value of just one first-round pick in order to pry the talented netminder out of Arizona. If they are not satisfied, the Coyotes will not trade Kuemper. Although his trade value is depleted after a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the team could get nearly as much cap savings from moving Raanta, whose contract expires after this season. While Kuemper is the morename, don’t be surprised to see Raanta move instead barring a top-notch offer.
- Patrik Laine is another one of the hot names on the rumor mill right now, with reports that the Winnipeg Jets are “serious” about moving the young scoring forward. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe doused those flames somewhat by stating that the Jets’ priority is still to re-sign Laine. It would be difficult for the team to get fair value for Laine and although they have more pressing needs than winger elsewhere on the roster, they could very well be better off holding on to the 22-year-old. A restricted free agent after next season, Laine will command a substantial salary that Winnipeg may find difficult to afford. Yet, Wiebe believes that current trade talks may be overblown so long as the two sides are still amenable to an extension, believing a trade to be more likely next summer – if a deal cannot be reached – rather than pulling the trigger early this off-season. Unless the Jets get exactly what they ask for in exchange for Laine, they have time before they need to get too serious about a trade.
- The most active team on the trade market so far has been the Pittsburgh Penguins, but things may begin to slow down for GM Jim Rutherford and his club. In a radio interview on Friday, Rutherford stated that his recent acquisition of defensemen Michael Matheson is not a precursor to another major trade regarding his top defensemen. Although there is a considerable logjam on the left side of the Pittsburgh blue line, top-four lefties Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson will not be traded. Matheson is expected to play on the left side of the team’s third pair, forcing Jack Johnson and Juuso Riikola to compete for a starting job on their off-side with righty Chad Ruhwedel. Matheson’s acquisition has also squashed the Penguins’ interest in free agent defenseman Chris Tanev and others, as Rutherford added that he does not anticipate adding to his defense corps on the open market.