The worst thing GM Chris Drury and the hierarchy could do is overreact to Patrick Kane’s decision to forego free agency to remain in Detroit on a one-year extension.
Because unless Steven Stamkos hits the market and it is No. 91 whom the Rangers target to fill the right wing spot beside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, there is no one else on the list of free-agent right wings worth the money to sign.
Not one of them, whether Tyler Bertuzzi, Jake DeBrusk, Jonathan Marchessault or Tyler Toffoli would have made the difference against the Panthers and that is the only gauge by which management should be evaluating potential additions.
The Rangers are going to have an ample amount of cap space with which to fill out the 2024-25 roster but are looking at a severe crunch the following season. Drury cannot afford to give multiyear deals to middle-six guys who would be asked to play up with the BFFs.
And while it is mathematically correct that there are 31 teams for the Rangers to beat, we know in reality there is one team to beat and that is Florida, which has eliminated the Bruins twice and the Hurricanes, Rangers, Maple Leafs and Lightning once apiece over the last two playoffs. That’s no rogues gallery. Those are the eastern powers that have repeatedly come up short against the Cup champs.
Marchessault probably comes closest to potentially being a difference-maker against the Puddy Tats after indeed scoring four goals against Florida in the 2023 final on his way to the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Cup champion Golden Knights, but the 33-year-old’s price would likely be prohibitive. Plus, he’s 5-foot-9 and I don’t think the objective is to get smaller.
Bertuzzi is going to garner a fair amount of interest as a quasi-physical winger. But it would be a mistake to sign the 29-year-old, 6-0, 190-pounder while projecting him as a difference-maker and I will tell you why.
Two years ago, Bertuzzi was traded to Boston at the deadline by Detroit. These were the record-setting Bruins. With Bertuzzi, the B’s lost the first round to the Panthers in blowing a 3-1 lead. Bertuzzi then signed a one-year free agent contract last summer with Toronto. With Bertuzzi, the Maple Leafs lost in the first round to his former team the Bruins.
This is not a player who is a playoff difference-maker. He failed twice in the last two years and if the Rangers throw money at Bertuzzi just because he might be the best name on the board, then I don’t know what to tell you.
Just because the Rangers are going to have an ample amount of cap space when the bell rings on Monday there is no requirement to empty out the organizational pockets. Cap space becomes more precious during the season. It is never more precious than at the deadline. Difference-makers always become available during the season and at the deadline.
Again, it is about getting from two wins to four in the conference final and from 10 wins to 16 over the course of the tournament. The Rangers don’t need any more guys who can get them through the 82-game season. There are kids from Hartford with their noses pressed against the outside of the window who have earned the opportunity. It is far better for head coach Peter Laviolette to give them a chance than for the club to be saddled with overpaid veterans on multiyear contracts.
Me, if I can’t sign Stamkos — and that would have to be a long shot, right? — I am giving a long look to Brennan Othmann up there with Zibanejad, or maybe I’m taking a look at Will Cuylle on the right. The Rangers do not have to have the perfect lineup on opening night. They do not have to have the perfect lineup at Christmas. The Rangers have to have the perfect lineup after the trade deadline.
Monday is the day that Jacob Trouba’s no-move clause transforms to a 15-team no-trade list. There are apparently hurt feelings on the part of the captain, maybe even deservedly so over the way the club’s intentions were splashed all over the papers and the internet last week.
But it would be counterproductive for Trouba to put on a pout and attempt to make it as difficult as possible for the Rangers to trade him. Trouba has always played hardball in contract negotiations. He had leverage with then-GM Jeff Gorton after the Blueshirts obtained the defenseman from Winnipeg in 2019 with one year left on his deal ahead of potential free agency that he used to get his current seven-year, $56M contract that has two years remaining.
Now the Rangers have leverage via the limited no-trade clause and have decided they can’t afford an $8M cap hit for a defenseman who is projected to be on the third pair. It doesn’t matter whether he was Captain Courageous playing on a broken ankle in the playoffs or not.
If Trouba does not approve a trade to Detroit that is believed in place, he will ultimately be sent somewhere else, perhaps by waivers. The decision has been made.
NEWS CREDIT
