New Rangers GM Jeff Gorton more than lived up to his appointment to that role with the work he did the past few days inking nearly all of the Rangers’ restricted free agents. It’s not just that he signed them but how much he signed each to given where many of us thought they would come in at salary wise. By doing so, he left enough room to hopefully ink Derek Stepan to a long-term deal while also possibly allowing for an additional below market signing or cap room to cover for injuries that are not eligible for LTIR.

In the past two days, here is what Gorton and Rangers did in terms of signings:

Oscar Lindberg - two years, $650K per season.
Emerson Etem - qualifying offer of one-year, $850,500
Dylan McIlrath – one year, $600k
Jesper Fast – two years, $950k per season
J.T. Miller – qualifying offer of $874k

What’s the impact of the above?

1) Money left to sign Stepan, as noted above and which I will cover in #4 below

2) Lineup flexibility
I will go into that more in #4 below, but locking in these players gives NY flexibility between the second and fourth lines as well as on the back end of the defense, especially with having signed Raphael Diaz to a one-year, $700k deal. Plus, if the Rangers decide to trade either Kevin Klein or Keith Yandle, there are available fill-ins, maybe not of the same ilk, but including Brady Skjei, that could slide into the open slots. In addition, the low bases and expiring deals after the year will create room to possibly incorporate Buchnevich and/or Tambellini in the near term, creating competition while allowing for trades.

3) Hungry players, who believe in their abilities with some commitment by NY.
Lindberg, who signed a one-way deal, gets guaranteed money, since he will receive the same salary at either level. He will need to pass through waivers to go back to the AHL. The likelihood of that occurring is remote, so in essence it’s make or break for Lindberg while NY shows that they believe he will be here. Etem is in essence betting on himself saying I will take the one-year deal now but believe I will have a big season and force a higher pay day next year rather than signing a two-year deal with a mild escalation.

McIlrath gets a chance to be the seventh or eighth d-man, and if he fails, he too will need to pass through waivers to go back to the minors. Fast gets a slight bump but the two-year deal at that AVV surprises me, as most of felt he would come in over a mil per year. If it was a two-year deal, I expected $1.1 and $1.4 mil, so at 950k per is astonishing, but he takes security over a one-year deal. The biggest surprise is Miller, since I had seen some projections of $1.4-$1.8 mil. Miller takes the ultimate bet on his talent, since he is eligible for arb next year and figures if he does end up in the top-six and plays as he did in the playoffs, he could double his salary. If that occurs, he will make up what he “lost” by signing the one-year contract.

4) Lineup
So many possible combinations. Here are two that were posted on the site, with the second one how I see it along with the current salaries next to each player:

Zuccarello Brassard Nash
Kreider Stepan Miller
Stalberg Hayes Etem
Lindberg Moore Fast

My view:
Zuccarello (4.5)- Brassard (5.0)- Nash (7.8) = 17.3
Kreider (2.475)-Stepan (xx)-Hayes (900k) = 3.375
Miller (874k)-Lindberg (650k)-Etem (850.5k) = 2.3746
Stalberg (1.1)-Moore (1.5)-Fast (950k) = 3.55

Total for forwards with Glass’ 1.45 mil included as the 13th forward is $28.0496 mil. Hayes could stay at center, but adding him to the wing on that second line adds to the bulk on the line, which allows Lindberg to stay at center, where his faceoff skills are well suited. That third line should have some speed and grit. If Hayes does stay at center, as in the first lineup listing, given his size and speed, but his weak faceoff skills leave a gap on that line. As noted above, there is a myriad of combinations that Alain Vigneault could use on the bottom six along with the wing on the second line, something that wasn’t always available last season.

Defensemen by likely pairings with salaries:

McDonagh (4.5)-Girardi (5.5)
Boyle (4.5)-Staal (5.7)
Yandle (2.625)-Klein (2.9)

I will use McIlrath (600k) as the 7th defenseman, so the total on defense is $26.525 mil. Mix-and-match the combinations as you wish.

Between the pipes are Lundqvist (8.5) and Raanta (750k) for a total of $9.25 mil

The gross total of the above is $63.8246 (excluding, per Larry Brooks, the reported 125k overage bonus for Anthony Duclair, which would make it about $63.95 mil)
The salary cap is $71.4 mil
The net available is $7.5753 mil, excluding Diaz at 700k or Jayson Megna at 600k, which, as I noted above, should enable New York to hopefully ink Stepan to a long-term deal while also possibly allowing for an additional below market signing or cap room to cover for injuries that are not eligible for LTIR.

Now to get Stepan locked up….

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