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August Free Agency Update: Metropolitan Division

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As even most mid-tier free agents are now off the market, it’s a good time to look at how each team has fared on the free agent market this offseason. We’re publishing a list of one-way signings (i.e., likelier to start the season on the NHL roster) by team, per division, to keep you updated on NHL player movement since the new league year began on July 1.

Asterisked players denote a restricted free agent. Double-asterisked players denote the contract starts in the 2024-25 season. Next up is the Metropolitan Division. You can check out the list of Atlantic Division signings here.

Carolina Hurricanes

**F Sebastian Aho (eight years, $9.75MM cap hit)
D Dmitry Orlov (two years, $7.75MM cap hit)
F Michael Bunting (three years, $4.5MM cap hit)
G Frederik Andersen (two years, $3.4MM cap hit)
F Jesper Fast (two years, $2.4MM cap hit)
D Anthony DeAngelo (one year, $1.675MM cap hit)
G Antti Raanta (one year, $1.5MM cap hit)
*D Dylan Coghlan (one year, $850K cap hit)
F Brendan Lemieux (one year, $800K cap hit)
D Caleb Jones (one year, $775K cap hit)

Columbus Blue Jackets

none

New Jersey Devils

F Michael McLeod (one year, $1.4MM cap hit)
F Nathan Bastian (two years, $1.35MM cap hit)
*D Kevin Bahl (two years, $1.05MM cap hit)
F Tomas Nosek (one year, $1MM cap hit)

New York Islanders

**G Ilya Sorokin (eight years, $8.25MM cap hit)
D Scott Mayfield (seven years, $3.5MM cap hit)
F Pierre Engvall (seven years, $3MM cap hit)
G Semyon Varlamov (four years, 35+ contract, $2.75MM cap hit)
*F Oliver Wahlstrom (one year, $874.1K cap hit)
F Julien Gauthier (two years, $787.5K cap hit)

New York Rangers

*D K’Andre Miller (two years, $3.872MM cap hit)
D Erik Gustafsson (one year, $825K cap hit)
G Jonathan Quick (one year, 35+ contract, $825K cap hit)
F Blake Wheeler (one year, 35+ contract, $800K cap hit)
F Nick Bonino (one year, 35+ contract, $800K cap hit)
F Tyler Pitlick (one year, $787.5K cap hit)
F Riley Nash (two years, $775K cap hit)

Philadelphia Flyers

*F Noah Cates (two years, $2.625MM cap hit)
F Garnet Hathaway (two years, $2.375MM cap hit)
*D Cameron York (two years, $1.6MM cap hit)
**G Samuel Ersson (two years, $1.45MM cap hit)
F Ryan Poehling (one year, $1.4MM cap hit)
D Marc Staal (one year, 35+ contract, $1.1MM cap hit)

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Tristan Jarry (five years, $5.375MM cap hit)
D Ryan Graves (six years, $4.5MM cap hit)
F Lars Eller (two years, $2.45MM cap hit)
F Noel Acciari (three years, $2MM cap hit)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (one year, $1.5MM cap hit)
*F Drew O’Connor (two years, $925K cap hit)
F Matthew Nieto (two years, $900K cap hit)
F Andreas Johnsson (one year, $800K cap hit)
G Magnus Hellberg (one year, $785K cap hit)
D Ryan Shea (one year, $775K cap hit)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (one year, $775K cap hit)
*D Ty Smith (one year, $775K cap hit)

Washington Capitals

**F Tom Wilson (seven years, $6.5MM cap hit)
*D Martin Fehervary (three years, $2.675MM cap hit)
F Max Pacioretty (one year, $2MM cap hit)
F Matthew Phillips (one year, $775K cap hit)

Lafreniere: Talks On New Deal Ongoing, Hopes To Sign Within Next Few Weeks

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While Alexis Lafreniere is one of 13 restricted free agents still looking for a contract for next season, he told Simon-Olivier Lorange of La Presse that discussions are ongoing and that he’s hoping to see a deal reached within the next few weeks.  The 2020 top pick has had some ups and downs in his young career as he looks to secure a full-time spot in the top six for the Rangers.  Coming off a 39-point season and the fact that New York’s cap space is quite limited, it’s a lock that Lafreniere won’t be getting a long-term agreement when an agreement is reached.  At this point, the question is likely more if he’ll be receiving a one-year bridge deal or a two-year pact.  Either way, he’ll have arbitration eligibility when that contract expires.

Where Does Alexis Lafreniere Fit In The Rangers’ Lineup?

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The New York Rangers selected Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere with back-to-back top-two picks in the 2019 and 2020 NHL Drafts, offering the team some key pieces to a short rebuild and a quick turnaround after the Ryan McDonagh and Henrik Lundqvist era of contending teams drew to a close. Things haven’t gone quite as planned for Kakko and Lafreniere individually since then, however.

Lafreniere now sits as the only remaining Ranger RFA left unsigned this offseason, and he needs a new deal in the next few weeks if he’s to be with the team on the first day of training camp. The team has the cap space to get it done with $2.278MM given a 22-player roster, per CapFriendly, but it’ll be a tight fit. Surely one thing Lafreniere is trying to flesh out is the role he’ll have on the team given a new coach behind the bench – Peter Laviolette. Some would say the outgoing head coach, Gerard Gallant, didn’t utilize Lafreniere as much as he should. Others would say Lafreniere hasn’t done enough to earn a bump in ice time.

He hasn’t hit the potential he showed in his 112-point draft-year season with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic, but he’s been a capable depth scorer who’s put up double-digit goal totals in each of his three NHL seasons so far. In 2020-21, his rookie campaign, he notched 12 goals, nine assists and 21 points while playing in all 56 games in a third-line role during the COVID-shortened season. He didn’t receive any ice time increase in his sophomore campaign, though, likely the biggest offense that those not fond of Gallant’s handling of the young prospect will point to. His production didn’t see a jump as a result, and he posted just 31 points in 79 games. He saw a small uptick last season, finishing with 16 goals, 23 points and 39 points in 81 games.

It’s easy to worry about time running out for Lafreniere thanks to three years of relative stagnation. However, he jumped into the league straight from juniors at 18 years old, meaning he’s still just 21 – there’s still another three or four seasons before he truly enters his prime. While it’s rare to see a non-linear path toward stardom, especially for highly-touted prospects, it’s not unheard of. While New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier put up solid two-way results since Day 1, it took a solid three or four years for his offensive production to jump to the near point-per-game we expect from him today.

While it isn’t time to give up hope on Lafreniere entirely, we still are approaching make-or-break territory over the next two seasons. Potentially in an unfortunate turn of events for Lafreniere’s development, the Rangers are now fully in contending mode. Will they be willing to spend the resources and make the adjustments necessary for Lafreniere’s individual growth? Given the age of some of their core players, it seems prudent to make all efforts to help Lafreniere approach bonafide top-six territory in hopes of him helping extend their contention window.

That starts now under the Laviolette regime. Is the veteran coach prepared to give Lafreniere a top-six role by moving him to his off-wing? Blake Wheeler was brought in this offseason and has a long history of playing a top-six role for the Winnipeg Jets, but at his age, he’s shown he’s primarily a playmaking specialist over the past few seasons and is entering defensive liability territory if he wasn’t there already. You could argue there isn’t room for a player with as many holes in his game as Wheeler in the top six of a team looking to lift the Stanley Cup.

Lafreniere may not have the point totals, but today, he’s a better finisher than Wheeler, with less to worry about defensively. It could warrant a bump in ice time alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck or Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, assuming Laviolette keeps those combinations together from last season.

Kakko looks to have a more solid grip on a top-six role after spending a decent chunk of last season on the right wing with Kreider and Zibanejad. That line dominated possession for the Rangers, posting the highest expected goals share of any three-man line with more than 100 minutes together for New York last season, according to MoneyPuck. It would be prudent for Laviolette not to mess with a good thing.

Another thing to consider – could the Rangers shuffle Trocheck in their middle-six and pair Lafreniere and Panarin with Filip Chytil down the middle? The latter broke out for 22 goals in 74 games last season and is entering the first year of a four-year, $17.75MM extension he signed in March. If the team is looking for their young talent to gain experience in tougher roles when the guard eventually changes to them, it could be a move worth thinking about.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Ryan Lindgren

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Ryan Lindgren has grown into an important top-four fixture for the New York Rangers, and he’s undoubtedly a player the team would like to retain for quite a while after this season. He’s currently eligible for a contract extension ahead of hitting restricted free agency next summer, but it could be an all-or-nothing situation, says The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. He posits the Rangers likely won’t go short-term with Lindgren, instead trying to work out a long-term, low-AAV extension or look to move him if they aren’t close on a deal.

The 2016 second-round pick has had some truly great defensive performances since turning into a full-timer with the Rangers, giving the team a dependable partner for star defender Adam Fox. While he’s shown the ability to log 20-plus minutes per game consistently, he’s yet to play a full 82 games in a season and is quickly becoming no stranger to injuries. He missed significant time at the tail end of 2022-23 with a shoulder issue.

New York Rangers Hire Christian Hmura

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According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the New York Rangers have added Christian Hmura to their coaching staff, who will now serve as the Skills and Performance Development coach. Walker notes that Hmura will strictly aid in the development of Rangers’ prospects, and work directly under the Director of Player Development, Jed Ortmeyer.

Hmura will replace Mark Ciaccio in his new role, but Ciaccio will stay on with the team as a Prospect Development Skills coach. In recent seasons, as they have aimed to compete for the Stanley Cup, New York has thinned out their prospect pool to a small degree, but Hmura will still get to work with promising talent such as Brennan Othmann, Will Cuylle, and recently drafted, Gabriel Perreault.

At any rate, this is a big step forward personally for Hmura, as he had recently been involved with the Chicago Mission AAA organization since the 2021-22 season. During his time with the organization, the Mission had six players selected in the 2022 and 2023 NHL Draft combined, including Brennan Ali (Detroit), Jack Devine (Florida), Joey Willis (Nashville), Jack Phelan (Detroit), Paul Fischer (St.Louis), as well as Perreault from New York.

It will likely be a difficult transition for Hmura into professional hockey, but the success of the Mission speaks for itself. Along with Shattucks St. Mary’s, Little Caesars, and Compuware, the Chicago Mission program is one of the most well-respected organizations in all of youth hockey, and Hmura’s time with the team only led to continued success. Only time will tell if his coaching tactics translate well to more NHL-ready level prospects.

AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack Sign Matej Pekar

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The AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, the primary minor-league affiliate of the New York Rangers, are in agreement with former Buffalo Sabres forward prospect Matej Pekar on a one-year contract, according to a team release. While now a member of the Rangers organization, Pekar is still eligible to sign an NHL contract with any team.

Pekar, 23, has played in parts of three AHL seasons for Buffalo’s affiliate, the Rochester Americans, accumulating 86 games of experience. He wasn’t able to crack the code and stand out among a deep Sabres prospect pool, though, and was sent down a level further to the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones last season for a consistent spot in the lineup, where he did well with 24 points in 28 games. Without any NHL looks under his belt since Buffalo drafted him in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the team opted not to issue him a qualifying offer this summer after his entry-level contract expired, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Czech forward played junior hockey in North America, heading to the OHL’s Barrie Colts after being drafted and doing quite well there. He averaged well over a point per game in two OHL seasons with Barrie and Sudbury, and his career totals of 99 points in 84 games generated some optimism about his ceiling and potential NHL viability as a bottom-six checking forward. Unfortunately for Pekar, COVID hit just as he was about to begin his pro career, and it may have caused him to lose most of the forward momentum he’d gained in his development. He went on to notch just four goals, 12 assists, 16 points and a -17 rating during his time in Rochester.

Signing with the Wolf Pack gives Pekar a unique opportunity to return to an environment he’s familiar with in ECHL Cincinnati if he can’t crack the AHL roster. The Sabres and Rangers swapped ECHL affiliates this offseason, as Buffalo and Rochester now partner with the Jacksonville Icemen. It’ll be tough for him to show he deserves a roster spot ahead of some of the Rangers’ NHL-contracted crew, though, as CapFriendly currently lists 14 AHL-eligible forwards assigned to the minors in their depth chart projection for New York. 2022 draft selection Bryce McConnell-Barker is listed among the minors crew for the Rangers, but he’s still too young for AHL assignment per the NHL-CHL transfer agreement. It’s likely Pekar will look to light up the ECHL this season in hopes of getting a more extensive AHL look down the stretch. There’s still time for him to turn things around and earn another NHL contract down the line.

New York Rangers Prospect Maxim Barbashev Traded In QMJHL

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  • The QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes acquired New York Rangers forward prospect Maxim Barbashev from the Moncton Wildcats via trade earlier this month, according to the league. The Rangers selected the Moscow-born left wing in the fifth round of the 2022 Draft, and he went on to have a rather strong campaign in 2022-23 with 32 goals, 33 assists and 65 points in 67 games with Moncton. All those numbers were career highs. He joins Los Angeles Kings defense prospect Angus Booth as the second NHL-drafted prospect on the Cataractes in 2023-24.

Zac Jones Could Be A Trade Candidate If He's Not In Top Six To Start Season

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  • At the moment, the defensive depth chart for the Rangers suggests that defenseman Zac Jones – now waiver-eligible – could be in line to land the seventh spot on the back end. However, in that scenario, Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the likelier outcome would be New York trading the 22-year-old over risking having his value stagnate as a frequent healthy scratch.  Jones seemed likely to crack the top six before the Rangers brought in veteran Erik Gustafsson (who played for new head coach Peter Laviolette last season in Washington) which should give him a leg up in the competition for a regular spot on the third pairing.

New York Rangers, Brandon Scanlin Reach Pre-Arbitration Settlement

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08/02/23: The Rangers have now officially announced the signing of Scanlin to a one-year contract extension.

08/01/23: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the New York Rangers and defenseman Brandon Scanlin have reached a pre-arbitration settlement on a new contract.

Scanlin’s representatives and the Rangers have agreed on a one-year, $775k contract carrying a $100k AHL salary. Scanlin’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for August 4th, and will obviously now be taking not take place.

Scanlin is a 24-year-old undrafted right-shot blueliner who signed an entry-level contract at the conclusion of his NCAA career at the University of Nebraska Omaha. That deal carried a $925k NHL AAV and an $80k AHL salary, the latter being the more important number as Scanlin was always unlikely to see games for the Rangers so quickly after leaving college. Scanlin’s camp has secured a pay raise to $100k in the AHL for next season, though at the cost of cutting the NHL AAV down to the league minimum.

While this will hurt Scanlin’s earning potential in the NHL, that isn’t of major consequence looking at the Rangers’ defensive depth chart. The hulking six-foot-three, 223-pound defenseman isn’t going to threaten Ryan Lindgren or K’Andre Miller for either of the two top slots on the Rangers’ defensive depth chart.

While the left-side spot on the team’s third pairing next to Braden Schneider will likely be up for grabs in training camp and preseason, Scanlin faces a tall task to earn that role over holdover Rangers players such as Zachary Jones (who the Rangers would need to expose to waivers to send to AHL Hartford) and Ben Harpur, or veteran free agent signings such as Erik Gustafsson (42 points last season) and Connor Mackey.

As a result, he’s overwhelmingly likely to be ticketed for a role back in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack, where he played his rookie professional season in 2022-23. Scanlin played in 61 games for Hartford in 2022-23, scoring four goals and 15 points while racking up 30 penalty minutes. Although Scanlin had to contend with more established players such as Jones, Libor Hájek, and Matthew Robertson soaking up regular minutes in Hartford he still managed to play in nearly 85% of the Wolf Pack’s games and the team’s full slate of nine playoff games.

That puts him in a decent position to maintain a regular role for the Wolf Pack next season, although the additions of Gustafsson and Mackey could make things more difficult. Assuming Gustafsson earns the third-pairing role next to Schneider and the Rangers opt to stash Jones in the press box as a seventh defenseman rather than expose him to waivers, Mackey, should he clear waivers, is in line to be the Wolf Pack’s number-one left-shot defenseman with Harpur and Robertson likely to be behind him.

That lineup picture could make it harder for Scanlin to see regular time in Hartford, especially as more accomplished AHLers such as Mac Hollowell and Nikolas Brouillard stand ahead of him on the right side.

Still, Scanlin appears to be one injury or waiver claim from resuming his regular role on head coach Kris Knoblauch’s defense, and should he manage to hold down a regular role he will be afforded a solid opportunity to continue his development and make a more concerted push for NHL call-up consideration.

Turner Elson Remains Under Contract For 2023-24

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  • A rare press release error was clarified by CapFriendly today, confirming that minor-league forward Turner Elson will remain under contract with the Rangers next season despite the team saying they’d signed him to a one-year deal in 2022. CapFriendly reported the two-year deal correctly at the time. Elson, 30, played a bottom-six role with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last year and will earn a minimum guaranteed salary of $250K in 2023-24. Coming to the Rangers last summer after a decade spent in the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, and Detroit Red Wings organizations, Elson registered a strong 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points in a team-leading 72 games for the Wolf Pack. It’s been quite the winding career for the undrafted free agent, who has three NHL games to his name and has cemented himself as solid veteran leadership and scoring depth in the minors.

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