Kevin Hayes destined for success in New York
Bobby Bevilacqua
Kevin Hayes had quite the spectacular rookie season in New York, and he could play an even bigger part in the Rangers offense next year. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
In the past, Glen Sather has gotten his fair share of criticism for signings and trades, some of it warranted. But the Rangers management doesn’t get nearly enough credit for their ability to identify young talent late in drafts or on the free agent market.
Ryan Callahan was a third round pick that turned in the Rangers captain. Carl Hagelin was a sixth round pick, and he turned into a great depth player, and a strong two-way forward. Anthony Duclair was a third Round pick. When dumping Scott Gomez’s contract, Sather was able to steal prospect Ryan McDonagh from the Montreal Canadiens, and that’s worked out quite well. And of course, Henrik Lundqvist was a seventh round pick, and he developed into one of the best goalies in the NHL.
Sather struck gold again this past offseason when he signed Kevin Hayes to a two year entry level contract. Hayes was the 24th pick overall in the 2010 draft, selected by the Chicago Blackhawks. But he decided to leave and pursue a better chance at cracking an NHL roster, eventually choosing to sign with the Rangers. Read the rest of this entry
Should the Rangers take the plunge and sign Alexander Semin?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Alexander Semin is still a free agent, and his offensive prowess could benefit the Rangers lineup. Should they sign him? Photo courtesy of Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports.
Although it’s July 19th, there are still some surprisingly good players left on the market as free agents. Eric Fehr, longtime Capitals, is still without a team. Brad Boyes is still a free agent after being bought out by the Panthers. James Sheppard is also unsigned.
But the most controversial free agent on the market is Alexander Semin, the former standout with the Capitals who was recently bought out of his contract by the Carolina Hurricanes. He was making $7 million this past season, and wound up being a healthy scratch at times, registering only 19 points in 57 games.
Semin has gotten criticism around the league for being a locker room cancer, and not the type of player that you want on a championship caliber team. But are those criticisms warranted? Read the rest of this entry
Rangers re-sign Mat Bodie to one year deal
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Elsa Garrison/Getty Images.
New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton announced this morning that the team had re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Mat Bodie to a one year deal. He rejected his qualifying offer, but used that as the basis for his new salary.
Mat Bodie agreed to a two-way deal, with an $80,000 salary at the AHL level, and a $575k NHL cap hit. The potential NHL salary is actually less than his last contract, but he got a $10,000 raise in the AHL, which is realistically where he will spend the entirety of next season. Read the rest of this entry
Gorton’s salary cap management leaves much needed wiggle room
Bobby Bevilacqua
Jeff Gorton should be applauded for his handling of the Rangers’ RFAs this offseason, but he still has some big decisions ahead. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Jeff Gorton and the Rangers have been very busy this week, signing almost all of their restricted free agents to new deals, and leaving valuable cap space open for the future. Gorton signed or re-signed Dylan McIlrath (article HERE), Magnus Hellberg (article HERE), JT Miller and Jesper Fast (article HERE), and Oscar Lindberg and Emerson Etem (article HERE).
What’s even better is that all of the players signed below what was their expected value. Oscar Lindberg, Emerson Etem, Jesper Fast and JT Miller signed for a combined cap hit of just $3.325 million. Now that’s great asset management.
If all of the listed cap hits are right, the Rangers have about $6.925 million left in free space. But that number, believe it or not, is realistically a bit higher. Also assuming that Dylan McIlrath ($600k) doesn’t make the team, and that Jayson Megna ($600k) is an AHL depth player, which is very likely, you can bump the Rangers available cap space to around $8.125 million. That’s a lot more than anyone thought the Rangers would have at this point. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers agree to terms with RFAs Jesper Fast and JT Miller
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers have re-signed two more of their RFAs, making JT Miller and Jesper Fast Rangers for the next season. Photo courtesy of Bill Kostroun/AP Photos.
New York Rangers continue to lock up their restricted free agents, signing another three in total today, with the latest signings being Jesper Fast and JT Miller, announced earlier this afternoon by GM Jeff Gorton.
With the latest signings, the Rangers have retained all of their restricted free agents except for Derek Stepan, who is set to go to arbitration on July 27th.
Jesper Fast earned himself a two year deal after a very good season for the 23 year old Swede. In his first season in the NHL, Fast appeared in 58 regular season games, scoring 14 points (6-8-14) in the process. He was excellent in the playoffs, tallying an additional three goals and three assists in 19 games. Read the rest of this entry
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