The New York Rangers will continue to have salary cap issues next season, even if it is expected to increase. General manager Chris Drury has to make a lot of tough decisions about putting a contending team on the ice.
The talk concerns goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin's need for a new contract starting next season. He could be the highest paid goaltender in the NHL. Shesterkin is eligible for an extension starting July 1, 2024. Negotiations are slow.
Other Rangers unrestricted free agents at the end of the season include Reilly Smith and defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren signed a one-year extension with the Rangers for $4.5 million this offseason, so there will be questions about whether they want to bring him back.
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Not to mention a restricted free agent. The Rangers will have Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller as free agents with arbitration rights. Other restricted free agents for the New York Rangers include Kaapo Kakko, Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe, and Adam Edstrom.
Jim Cerny of ForeverBlueshirts.com was on the Full Press NHL Podcast and discussed the contract situation facing the New York Rangers moving forward.
“It will be a bear to put that list together next season, because Igor Shesterkin will be an unrestricted senior. “Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller should be free agents with arbitration rights,” Cerny said. “They did their bridge deals, and I know Miller made more money, but they did their smaller contracts. They are now approaching unlimited free operation. Now they have arbitration rights.”
If Lafreniere and Miller are part of the Rangers moving forward, what will they be doing? If Lafreniere puts together another season like last year with the Rangers, the starting point will be Dylan Guenther's contract with Utah.
Guenther will make $7,142,857 in his next contract. As Cerny notes, $7 million is out of the question for one of these players.
“Now you're at a point where you say, yes, these guys are part of our backbone, you know, we've got it. We have to sign them. So, I don't know, what does that mean? $7 million for one man, five and a half, six for another,” said Cerny. “I don't know that six and a half includes one, five and a half includes another. It will be expensive. If those guys, and I believe they are part of the total, it will cost. “
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As NHLRumors.com wrote, Igor Shesterkin and his agency want 14% of the cap, which means $12.9 million. Most likely, that is not a number. But by all accounts, he will surpass Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price.
The price is $10.5 million and will not play anymore. What will the number be? It's probably around $11 million, maybe $11.5 million. That number just eats up the New York Rangers' salary cap, especially with the contracts already on the books.
“Let's say you make 11, right? And again, that might be on the bright side. Panarin has already made 11. Fox did a 9.5. Zibanejad did 8.5. Kreider at 6.5. Alexis Lafreniere, what will he get? Seven,” said Cerny. “If they get a long-term deal, if it's just a few years, it's probably going to be less. But now, it's starting to add up.
Oh, where does Ryan Lindgren fit in now? How do you pay Ryan Lindgren, you may be looking at the moment, this will be his biggest payday in the NHL, because, and this is another part to consider with Lindgren what is his shelf life in the NHL. , the way he plays, the way he always hits, just his way of playing recklessly and playing through all these injuries and everything. You love it. He likes to watch it. I mean, you have a lot of respect for this guy, don't you? How long can he keep this up? He is 26 years old. You're telling me it's the body of a 26-year-old boy right now?”
The New York Rangers have a lot of off-ice questions heading into next season, and the season hasn't even started yet. They don't have the money to pay the guys they need to add and replace the top four defenseman on their roster.
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It's a never-ending cycle of paying or trading for someone, and they don't have the assets or the space to do it.
As the captain of the New York Rangers, Jacob Trouba, who will look for another time, which was noted during the opening of the training camp, he knows that the window is closing in this team.
“It is possible that this will be the last climb in this core,” said Trouba. “I don't think that's a secret by any means.”
Several question marks surround the New York Rangers. Next year, this organization could have a completely different feel. They went from a rebuild to a competitor to a middle of the road team in just a few years.
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