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Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Rangers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kaapo Kakko – Kaapo Kakko’s pending free agency has become just as prolific as the rest of his early career, with the former second-overall pick not doing much to warrant a shiny new contract after a big step back this season. Kakko scored 18 goals and 40 points last year, beginning to vie for a somewhat comfortable role in the Rangers’ top-six, but he lost his momentum with just 13 goals and 19 points this year. It’s the third season of Kakko’s five-year career where he’s managed fewer than 20 points, with his career totals now sat at 117 points through 300 games. The measly scoring has continued into the postseason, where Kakko has just nine points in 44 career games. It’s hard to give up on one of the top names from an illustrious 2019 top 10, but New York will certainly use these contract negotiations as a chance to reset their expectations for the Finnish forward.

D Braden Schneider – Juxtaposing Kakko’s tame years with the Rangers, Schneider has done everything and then some to show he’s deserving of an everyday spot in the Rangers lineup since making his debut in 2021. He played in all 82 games this season and posted five goals and 19 points, one-upping his 18-point career-high set in 81 games last year. His ice time grew from an average of just 15 minutes in October to 17 minutes in the postseason, with Schneider even receiving top-line minutes multiple times throughout the season. It’s been a statement year for Schneider, who can enter negotiations confident that the Rangers will want to lock him up for the foreseeable future. But what price that term will require is yet to be seen. In a year with very few pending free agents, Schneider will be New York’s most integral re-signing.

D Ryan Lindgren – Amidst two restricted free agents on very different ends of the scale, Lindgren exists somewhere in the middle. His value is divisive, though he’s done a lot to show his worth as a stout defensive defender – even working his way into a confident second-pair and penalty-killing role this season. Lindgren posted 17 points in 76 games along the way, sticking within three points of his scoring totals in every season of his career. That consistency is commendable, if nothing else, and should be enough to pique New York’s interest. The Rangers could lock up their defense for the long-term this summer, a dream opportunity for a team faced with once again reconstructing the offense.

Other RFAs: F Karl Henriksson, F Bobby Trivigno, D Matthew Robertson, G Olof Lindbom

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Jack Roslovic – The Rangers acquired Roslovic at the Trade Deadline, sending a 2026 fourth-round pick back to the Columbus Blue Jackets. And while his play was ultimately a bit hot-and-cold in New York, he vindicated the cheap acquisition cost with 16 points in 35 games with the Rangers, split between the regular season and the playoffs. Roslovic served in his patented third-line role with the Rangers, offering grit and all-three-zones impact but never jumping off the page. As a result, his minutes were the first on the chopping block when the Rangers welcomed back Filip Chytil, bumping Roslovic down to the fourth line where he struggled to score. Roslovic was by no means detrimental in his short tenure with the Rangers, but he’s already lost when faced with competition for minutes. He plays a style that the Rangers welcome, and it’d be no surprise to see him return, but he could quickly price himself out of that option on a Rangers team with less than $12MM in cap space.

F Alexander Wennberg – Wennberg was another Deadline acquisition for the Rangers, costing them a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. The 25-year-old forward went on to struggle with the Rangers, posting just seven points through 35 games. He rotated around the team’s bottom-six, offering helpful lineup flexibility and even slotting onto special teams at points. Wennberg expressed interest in returning to New York in his exit interviews, even despite his modest role. He’ll likely be willing to take a cheap deal to make that happen, slotting him back in to a busy competition for minutes in New York’s bottom-six.

F Blake Wheeler – Wheeler’s last hoorah with the Rangers didn’t go entirely as planned, with the veteran forward playing in just 56 total games this season, after missing three months of the year’s second-half with a leg injury. He posted a just 21 points on the year, his lowest scoring since the 2009-10 season – his second year in the league. Wheeler’s recovery journey and valiant push to return for the playoffs have dominated much of the conversation around him, but the topic of retirement is looming. He will turn 38 before the start of next season and just had his one-year, $800K contract with the Rangers spoiled by injury.  The Rangers are now rich with bottom-six forwards and likely don’t have room for Wheeler even if he does want to play another year. He’s likely set on testing the waters of the open market, which should help him make a call on if he’s ready to quit.

D Erik Gustafsson – New York has a wealth of depth defense options, especially as players like Matthew Robertson and Brandon Scanlin adjust more to NHL roles. But Gustafsson brought an exciting spark to the Rangers blue line, posting a strong 31 points in 76 games without ever looking like much of a liability on defense. He was an ace up Peter Laviolette’s sleeve, typically serving bottom-pair minutes but always ready to jump into a top-pair role should the Rangers need a boost. Extending Gustafsson runs the risk of creating a logjam on New York’s blue line. But the veteran defender seemed well-adjusted to the team’s systems and offers cheap depth that’s likely too valuable for New York to pass-up.

Other UFAs: D Chad Ruhwedel, F Nic Petan, F Tyler Pitlick, D Nikolas Brouilard, D Mac Hollowell

Projected Cap Space

New York is entering the off-season with just $11.61MM in cap space, getting a slight boost from the announcement of an $88MM cap ceiling. That should be enough money for them to re-sign any of their pending free agents that they wish to keep, though Schneider’s deal could quickly eat up space if it mirrors the long-term deals of players like Jake Sanderson, Mattias Samuelsson, and Alex Vlasic. Securing Schneider, and their picks of Lindgren and Gustafsson, will solidify a Rangers blue-line that looked sound for much of last season – but it may come at the cost of parting with their plethora of depth forwards.

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

Rangers Notes: Kakko, Trouba, Core

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Rangers general manager Chris Drury held his virtual end-of-season media availability today after his squad was bounced by the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. Among the topics of discussion was the future of 2019 second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko, who’s already found himself in trade rumors after being benched during the playoffs and reaching the end of his contract.

Drury compared Kakko’s situation to that of 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière last summer, saying the team will “continue to try and find everything we can do to help him reach his potential” (via USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano). Like Kakko, Lafrenière was a restricted free agent last summer but ended up sticking with the team and signing a two-year, $4.65MM deal in August.

It turned out to be the prudent choice. Under new head coach Peter Laviolette, Lafrenière was finally elevated to a consistent top-six role and scored 28 goals and 57 points while playing in all 82 games, all career highs. He was also one of the Rangers’ better playoff performers, adding eight goals and 14 points in 16 contests.

Unlike Lafrenière, though, Kakko looked to have taken a step forward last season after scoring 18 goals and 40 points but regressed heavily this year. The 23-year-old Finn averaged 13:17 per game, a career low, and mustered only 13 goals and 19 points in 61 games. Whether the Blueshirts hold onto his signing rights and attempt to continue developing him into a top-six threat or decide to move him remains to be seen.

More from Drury on the Rangers’ offseason and future:

  • He also went out of his way to defend captain Jacob Trouba, who’s drawn public ire after a poor showing in their loss to the Panthers (via The Athletic’s Peter Baugh). “Jacob’s been an excellent captain and leader for us. … He gives us everything he can every single night.” The blue-liner had three goals and 22 points in 69 games this season, tied for his lowest offensive output per game since New York acquired him from the Jets in 2019. He did have seven points in 16 playoff games but got caved in defensively at even strength, only managing to control 41.6% of shot attempts.
  • The third-year GM still believes their core of Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin can lead them to a championship after their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season. “I do believe in our players individually,” Drury said. “Now it’s part of the job to figure out if this group collectively can get us where we want to be. That process is already underway” (via Mercogliano).

Rangers Notes: Fox, Trouba, Vesey, Wheeler, Wennberg

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With any team’s end-of-season media availability, especially after a long run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, a slew of injuries are typically revealed to the public. During the media availability for the New York Rangers, injuries were reported for defensemen Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, while the injury keeping Jimmy Vesey out of the Eastern Conference Finals was brought to light.

In the team’s Round One series against the Washington Capitals, Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today reports Fox reaggravated his knee injury during a knee-on-knee collision with Capitals’ defenseman Nick Jensen. After only one month into the 2023-24 NHL season, Fox was placed on the Rangers’ long-term injured reserve due to a knee injury, keeping him out of the lineup from November 2nd to November 29th. The change in play was noticeable, as Fox only tallied six assists in 12 games following the series against Washington, a stark dropoff compared to his previous postseason play.

Staying on the blue line, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba dealt with a broken ankle. However, later reports suggested that the fractured ankle fully healed by the end of March, and Trouba was largely healthy for New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Still, Trouba set a career-high in postseason points with seven in 16 games but still led the team with 22 PIMs during the playoffs.

Lastly, Dan Rosen of the NHL mentions that Vesey was dealing with a separated shoulder during the penultimate series which would keep him out of the lineup. Thankfully, the report suggests that Vesey will not require surgery to repair his shoulder, and should return after a few weeks of rehab.

Other Rangers notes:

  • Playing on a team not named the Winnipeg Jets for the first time in 12 years, the 2023-24 NHL season may have been the last for forward Blake Wheeler. Mercogliano of USA Today relayed that a decision regarding his future has not been made, but he will talk it through with his family this summer. It would not be surprising to see Wheeler hang up his skates, as the soon-to-be 38-year-old veteran suffered a gruesome leg injury on February 15th against the Montreal Canadiens — an injury that would keep him off the ice for nearly four months.
  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported that Alexander Wennberg would like to return to the team this offseason after being acquired by the Rangers at this year’s trade deadline. Wennberg was originally acquired from the Seattle Kraken for New York’s second-round pick in 2024 and Dallas’ fourth-round pick in 2025. Brought in to fill the void in the team’s third-line center position, Wennberg put up two points in 16 postseason games for the Rangers while averaging nearly 16 and a half minutes of ice time.

East Notes: Shesterkin, Rajanimei, Bednar

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The New York Rangers will reportedly begin contract extension talks with superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin when their window to do so opens on July 1st (as per David Pagnotta). The 28-year-old has one season remaining on the four-year $22,666,667 he signed in August 2021 and will likely top Carey Price’s $10.5MM AAV to become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Price’s contract remains active on Montreal’s books and is followed by Sergei Bobrovsky’s $10MM AAV and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s $9.5MM AAV.

The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner saw his regular season numbers fall off as he posted a 36-17-2 record with a .912 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average. His biggest drop off was his goals saved above expected where he dropped by 16 goals saved down to 12.1. As pedestrian as his regular season numbers were (by his standards), Shesterkin found his game in the playoffs and was dominant in helping the Rangers to the Conference Finals. He currently sits in second place in goals saved above expected with 13.1 goals saved in just 16 games and posted a .926 save percentage.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that the New York Islanders have lost the NHL rights to 2020 sixth-round draft pick Matias Rajaniemi, however, the defenseman had previously signed an AHL deal to play with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. Rajaniemi signed the AHL deal back in March and is free to sign with any NHL team, however, as Rosner points out that doesn’t happen very often. The 21-year-old has yet to suit up in North America but does have good size at 6’4” and 203 pounds.
  • Max Bultman of The Athletic tweeted that the Detroit Red Wings lost the NHL rights to goaltender Jan Bednar, however, the 21-year-old quickly signed an AHL deal with the Red Wings affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. The one-year deal will keep the former fourth-round pick in the Red Wings organization after he spent last season in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. Bednar is a good size at 6’4” and 200 pounds and is very gifted athletically. By signing Bednar to an AHL deal, Detroit and Grand Rapids have an opportunity to evaluate the netminder for another season before deciding their next course of action.

Benoît Allaire To Remain With Rangers As Director Of Goaltending

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Last night, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that Director of Goaltending of the New York Rangers, Benoît Allaire, would be scaling back his role with the organization after 20 years of service with the organization. However, this morning, Vince Mercogliano of USA Today reported that Allaire will continue to serve as the team’s Director of Goaltending moving forward, but he will be helping the team find his replacement.

Allaire originally took over as the Rangers’ goaltending coach for the 2004-05 season, but would not truly begin his tenure until the 2005-06 season due to the lockout that took place in 2005. Before his role in the Big Apple, Allaire served as the goaltending coach for the Phoenix Coyotes from 1997 to 2004, helping develop a then 24-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin.

In Allaire’s first true season as goaltending coach for the Rangers organization, he had a major hand in developing one of the best goaltenders in franchise history. Making his debut in the 2005-06 NHL season, former seventh-round pick, Henrik Lundqvist would make his debut and would spend the next 14 years in New York.

Allaire and Lundqvist created a bond that would span over the latter’s entire career, as it would take Lundqvist 11 years in the NHL to finally not receive a vote for the Vezina Trophy. After Lundqvist left the team after the 2019-20 season, Allaire helped with the rise of current Rangers starter, Igor Shesterkin, who was a fourth-round pick of the organization back in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Thanks to Allaire, New York has not had to worry about goaltending for the last two decades. Allaire has coached back-to-back organizational stalwarts in net to Vezina Trophy victories in 2012 and 2022. Allaire, and the Rangers organization, will have a difficult time filling his skates as he eventually transitions into retirement.

Vesey Skates In Non-Contact Jersey, Wheeler Didn't Practice Saturday

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Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey skated today in a non-contact jersey, notes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link).  He has missed the last three games after suffering an upper-body injury in the second game of their series against Florida.  At the time of the injury, Vesey was given a week-to-week designation so it remains unlikely that he’ll suit up for the rest of this round.  However, if New York can come back and win the series, he could be an option to return at that time.  Vesey had 13 goals and 13 assists in 80 games during the regular season and added three points in a dozen playoff contests before being injured.

  • Still with the Rangers, winger Blake Wheeler did not take the skate this morning due to soreness, notes Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran missed the last two months of the season after suffering a leg injury but recovered in time to be available to suit up against Florida.  However, Wheeler has only played once so far in this series and since he’s still dealing with lingering soreness, it’s quite possible they’ll hold him out of the lineup if this gets to a seventh game on Monday.

Rangers Reach Affiliation Agreement With ECHL Bloomington

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The Rangers have reached an affiliation agreement with the expansion Bloomington Bison of the ECHL, general manager Chris Drury announced today. It makes the second straight offseason in which the Rangers have changed ECHL affiliates.

New York has long had a steady top-level affiliation with AHL Hartford, maintaining a primary relationship with them since 1997. They’re the ones more affected by any changes in secondary affiliations. Previously, the Rangers held an ECHL affiliation agreement with the Jacksonville Icemen in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons but switched affiliates with the Sabres last July and entered into an agreement with the Cincinnati Cyclones. That relationship ended up lasting just one season. The Cyclones are now without an NHL affiliate for 2024-25, although they’ll likely reach an agreement with a new club in the coming months.

Two players under contract with the Rangers – both goaltenders – spent time in the ECHL this season with Cincinnati. Their primary tandem was 2021 fourth-round pick Talyn Boyko and 2018 second-round pick Olof Lindbom, both of whom were on entry-level contracts this year. ECHL teams often play an important role in developing goalies for the NHL parent clubs, especially compared to other positions.

Boyko will likely return to the ECHL next season, now with Bloomington, while Lindbom is less likely. The Swede struggled with a .884 SV% in 29 games and is a pending restricted free agent, but he’s a strong non-tender candidate after that poor minor-league showing. 6’8″ netminder Hugo Ollas, who the Rangers drafted in the seventh round in 2020 and recently signed out of Merrimack College, is also a likely candidate for assignment to the Bison.

With the Illinois-based franchise and the Tahoe Knight Monsters both set to begin play next season, the ECHL will be comprised of 29 teams. Tahoe is the only club without an NHL/AHL affiliation.

Jacob Trouba Fined $5K For Elbowing

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  • The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba $5K for an elbow against Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final (Twitter link). The fine is the maximum allowed under the CBA. Trouba was assessed a minor penalty on the hit, though many fans argued the flying-elbow should have warranted a major penalty. He’ll now be assessed a fine instead, maintaining his eligibility for what will be a crucial Game 4. The Rangers are currently up 2-1 in the ECF series, in no small part thanks to Trouba’s three points in three games, including two assists in Game 3. He’s also recorded 12 hits and 16 blocks in the series.

Jimmy Vesey Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

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New York Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey has been designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette shared with Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). Vesey took a hard hit from Florida Panthers’ forward Ryan Lomberg in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, leaving the game after just 5:47 in ice time.

Vesey’s absence will likely make way for Kaapo Kakko to return to the lineup, after being healthy scratched in Game 2. It was the second time in the last three years that Kakko was scratched in the Eastern Conference Finals, coming after he managed just two points through New York’s first 11 playoff games. Vesey’s injury will also provide a bit more lineup security to bruiser Matt Rempe, who stepped back into the lineup for Game 2 – though the Rangers were very deliberate with his ice time. If not Rempe, then New York will likely turn to veteran Blake Wheeler, who’s been out since February with a leg injury. Wheeler posted 21 points in 54 games this season – his first year away from the Winnipeg Jets since 2010-11.

Rangers Recall 13 Players

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With the Rangers seeing their AHL team eliminated in the Atlantic Division Finals earlier this week, they were free to recall some players to the big club to serve as their ‘Black Aces’ squad.  After taking a few days, they’ve made their choices on who to bring up.  AHL Hartford announced that the Rangers have promoted goaltender Dylan Garand, defensemen Ben Harpur, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, Matthew Robertson, and Brandon Scanlin, and forwards Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick, and Adam Sykora from the Wolf Pack.

Garand was briefly up with the Rangers earlier in the playoffs when third-stringer Louis Domingue was unavailable but didn’t see any game action.  The 21-year-old didn’t have a particularly strong regular season with a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in 39 regular season games but was quite sharp in the playoffs, improving those numbers to 2.59 and .922 respectively in nine appearances.

Among the blueliners, only Mackey and Scanlin saw action with the Rangers during the regular season, getting into one game apiece; one of them would likely be the first from this group to get the call to play if necessary.  Harpur has the most experience with 198 career appearances (including 42 with New York in 2022-23) but missed most of the season due to injury which likely takes him off the table.  Mancini, meanwhile, is eligible to practice but not play as his entry-level contract doesn’t officially begin until next season.

As for the forwards, all but Belzile, Berard, and Sykora got into at least one NHL contest in 2023-24.  Pitlick led the way on that front with 34 appearances but was limited to just a goal and three assists while averaging a little over 10 minutes a night.  That said, he’d be the safest player to put in the lineup if necessary given his familiarity.  Othmann is one of their top prospects and had a strong year in Hartford with 49 points in 67 games.  While it would be riskier to put him in, his style of play fits in with the physicality of the postseason while Othmann could provide some potential offensive upside if Peter Laviolette has to shake things up.

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