Blog Archives
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
Where the newest Rangers players fit in the lineup
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers didn’t make any big splashes in free agency, mainly due to the restrictions of the salary cap. Instead, Jeff Gorton added some players to help bolster the Rangers’ bottom six forward group, and making other subtle moves to help provide depth.
Barring contract disagreements or trades, the Rangers are likely done making moves to acquire new players. So looking at the new additions for this year, where do they fit in the Rangers plans? Read the rest of this entry
Rangers have a smart and effective first day of free agency
Bobby Bevilacqua
There were no major moves for the Rangers, but Viktor Stalberg was the “biggest” signing for Gorton. Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports.
While the Rangers didn’t have much cap space to work with going into free agency, Jeff Gorton made the best with what little he had on his first day as the Rangers GM, signing some players for the Wolf Pack, adding a cheap seventh defenseman and a solid depth forward for either the third or fourth line.
Jeff Gorton has been waiting for a few years for his chance to run the New York Rangers. Everybody knew that it was going to happen. But nobody knew when. I’m not quite sure which previous moves that Gorton had his hands in, but if yesterday was the first official day on the job, then he made a good first impression. He made little, smart, effective moves to help address some of the Rangers needs. Read the rest of this entry
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