Rangers Can't Buy Out Jacob Trouba Until 2025 – Hockey Writers – Rangers Transactions

The news that the New York Rangers were able to get rid of Barclay Goodrow's bad contract sent a clear message – that general manager Chris Drury and the front office are willing to move forward on financial commitments that would jeopardize the organization's short-lived Stanley Cup competition, and its ability to re-sign future cornerbacks. .

This amazing day that made Goodrow released and wanted by the San Jose Sharks could mean that captain Jacob Trouba may be the one who follows the contract. However, Trouba is unlikely to be offloaded, and Drury should also strongly consider holding off on a potential move for the 30-year-old defender until next summer, when the club will face a seemingly impossible wage bill from the outside. important changes in the list.

Parting ways with Goodrow was a certainty from the moment he signed his six-year, $21.8 million non-advised deal after Drury acquired his tentative negotiating rights on July 17, 2021. He got third-line support and brought a championship pedigree. and leadership at an emerging contender, the Rangers received mixed results, and Goorow was demoted to the fourth line in the third year of the contract.

The chances of the two-time Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning reaching the end of the deal were slim. With cap space needed to improve the Eastern Conference finalist club, the Rangers would not have been able to afford a $3.6 million player who scored 12 points in 80 games this season — even if Goodrow did. exactly what the Blueshirts expected from him in the 2024 playoffs, when he scored six goals and two assists in 16 games.

Goodrow's Departure May Tempt Drury to Make Trouba Next Cap Casualty

Drury showed little hesitation in acting quickly to begin the process of getting at least part of the deal on the books. Looking for room to re-sign restricted young defensemen Braden Schneider and Ryan Lindgren in addition to potential trades, and a major contract headache next year, the club appeared to be on a shopping spree. Goodrow's before the Sharks stepped up and made Drury's life a lot easier.

One can imagine that this necessary decision will spark GM's desire to trim fuel, and the Trouba is the target for next summer 2024 with the potential to open up more space that Goodrow wasted. With two years left on an $8 million contract, and Trouba's no-movement clause being changed to a 15-team no-trade on July 1, Drury could pursue a long trade that could include retention. salary, or buy a deal.

Picking the final course in this summer's shopping window, which begins 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, would create $4 million in cap space in 2024-25 and 2025-26, with a $2 million dead-cap cap. two seasons after that. With Rangers tempted to free up more space this summer with an eye to a blockbuster trade, there is more value in waiting until the summer of 2025 to sever ties with Trouba – at which point the club will appear to have no other option.

If Drury can in fact find a trade partner for Trouba, he clearly has to act. Beyond that, however, Trouba's contract could serve as a “magic bullet” next summer – when the front office will need all the ammunition it can get as it tries to keep the team's core together.

The problem is that in the summer of 2025, in addition to Trouba's contract that has one year left to run, Artemi Panarin's monster contract will also have one season at $11.6 million left. Panarin's deal is essentially a buyout, with most of the money being paid in signing bonuses, and the outfielder has a complete no-movement clause in the deal that can't be removed in a trade anyway.

The timing of the expiration of those two contracts is not exciting, to say the least. Next summer, the Rangers – if they're lucky – will be dealing with the first year of star goaltender Igor Shesterkin's massive extension, which could double his current record $5.67 million and make him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. . Eligible to sign that extension this summer, it's believed Drury will begin engaging Shesterkin's camp about the terms of the deal soon as the club looks to lock down its most valuable player long-term.

There is more, of course. Much more. Alexis Lafreniere, who is in the 2023-24 offseason, becomes a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer. Completing Bridges' two-year, $4.6 million contract next season, the top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft will likely triple his $2.3 billion long-term deal if his development into a franchise player continues.

Young defenseman K'Andre Miller's season will also come next summer, when his two-year contract expires. While Miller may not blossom into a franchise quarterback for the Rangers though he may be in his first few seasons, the big 2024-25 when Miller finally gets all of his superior physical gifts aligned could make his next contract more expensive.

Related: Rangers Can Fix Jake Guentzel Trade Miss This Offseason

There's also Kaapo Kakko, who could be traded after rejoining the team for one year and $2.4 million — or who could have a (somewhat sweet) financial headache if the No. 2 pick in 2019 finally lands Lafreniere. -esque bust-out in his sixth season. If Kakko finally blossoms, can the Rangers afford not to try to sign him long-term, given the lack of right wings on the roster?

All of this will have to be done with extensions considered this offseason and re-signings on the books — not to mention annual fill-ins down the roster. Despite the expectation that the cap will rise again next year after several years of pandemic-forced cap space, the funds will still tighten too quickly for Drury and the front office.

That's why, if the Rangers can complete the re-signing of Lindgren (longer contract?) and Schneider (possible bridge) this summer with the cap space now available – and we're assuming Drury doesn't pull off a big game-changing trade. cap and roster picture too – he could hold on to the Trouba buyout option as a pull starter in 2025. That will give him $4 million in immediate relief as he tries to make Shesterkin, Miller, Lafreniere, etc. they all worked.

The buyout will also cost less if done next year compared to this one – the Rangers will risk $4 million in dead cap in one season, rather than two, and one more season of $2 million in dead cap. after that, instead of two. It's also worth considering that Trouba, who has been ineffective this season and has been ineffective in the playoffs, could be back in 2024-25 after being hampered by a significant leg injury in the second half of the season.

Doubters will point out that Trouba never reached the seven-year, $56 million contract he signed in 2019, and that he may start doing so in his 31-year-old season, after he lost. to the third defender at the end of the season and in the play-offs. Taking him out now, however, opens up a hole on defense that, believe it or not, could be difficult to replace if the Rangers want to take the next step and reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024-25.

Right-backs don't grow on trees, and the Rangers' realistic options to replace him next season are predictably poor. Much of the fan push to move away from him yesterday stems from frustration with the way he played last season, and that's understandable, but it's the job of the front office to deal with such opportunities with a level head. Drury is not known for acting impulsively and impulsively, and that will be the case here.

Buying Trouba before the season is expected to be another Stanley Cup window for this team is a good idea only if the club has a ready-made replacement who will be better – and the captain is likely to be at least better than he was in 2023. -24. It's hard to see where a better practical option would come from right now; this player will also have to reach an agreement, given the limits of Rangers.

After one season of hypothetical contention in 2024-25, the Rangers will have more clarity on what the immediate future holds. What seems certain is that Trouba, if the Rangers do not cut ties with him this summer, if you are sure he will be gone in 2025. The last option, however, seems more practical: The Blueshirts have the opportunity to benefit from a possible one-season return from the defender, the purchase will be less expensive per year and most importantly, his contract will serve as a $4 million discount card that Drury can play when he needs it most. The 2025 buyout may prove too important for the organization to make money work until the summer of 2026, when Panarin's top choking cap hit comes off the books.

Uncertainty will surround the Rangers' roster over the next few months, but the benefits of keeping Trouba for another season outweigh the collective clamor to release him. Finding a trade now that clears at least half of the balance should be a jump, but that scenario seems unlikely. If that's true, Drury could be well rewarded for keeping his captain around through 2024-25.