The Rangers continue to apparently remain engaged on Jack Eichel as free agency is set to begin at noon. Philip Danault may be heading to Vegas. New York appears to have an agreement in place with a third-pair, left-handed blueliner. Pavel Buchnevich signs a four-year deal in St. Louis. Pre-season schedule announced.
The Eichel sweepstakes are not yet over.
Despite - if you believe George Laraque - Vegas on the verge of signing Danualt and possibly for six years, $6.5 mil AAV - each aspect unconfirmed, they remain engaged on Eichel (see below). The package is a solid package but not one that can't be surpassed by New York, if they want to. According to many, the Blueshirts are hovering and lurking, which has been their position throughout. Remain tacitly involved and possibly strike when price lowers enough or a final decision is due.
Given Eichel's neck injury, AAV and years remaining, it's a risky bet. Plus, as we have discussed, what does that do to Mika's price point and future with the team. As I have said before, I am far from all in here on Eichel. If you want to pay elite money, I could have seen Gabriel Landeskog, cognizant of the wear and tear on him, age, ask and question if he can play center, all factored in. But his willingness to play a physical style of play, his performance - albeit limited between the dots, leadership and ability to make others better would have made him attractive. But just after I wrote this - a waste of time and ink - he re-signed with Colorado for eight years at $7 mil per, plus he reportedly did not have the Rangers on his list of teams where he has interest. This does hurt the Isles as was rumored to be one of their main targets.
Larry Brooks reported that Patrick Nemeth will sign with New York when free agency opens. He added today that the deal will be three years with an AAV of $2.5 million, which is right in the middle of the $2.25-2.75 million range he speculated when first reporting the news..With that possible addition, the Blueshirts are still in the market for a seventh blueliner, but that is likely to be around the league minimum
Brooks summarized nicely what Nemeth brings:
A veteran of 366 NHL games, the 6-foot-3, 228-pound Nemeth is a big-bodied lefty who plays a simple, stabilizing game, is strong is in own end and will protect the front of the net. He can be a nasty one, blocks shots, has a good stick, can make the first pass and not coincidentally at all, should be a stabilizing influence on his projected third-pair partner and fellow Swede, Nils Lundkvist.
As seen below, defensively, Nemeth was excellent last year and has been for the past few seasons. He struggled in the playoffs last season. But in the regular campaign. he was very good at limiting goals against while on the ice. Nemeth won't add offense and isn't one to fight, but he plays solid positional hockey and can be physical when needed. In addition, his presence makes it more likely than Lundkvist lines up opposite for the start of the 2021-22 campaign
Buchnevich signs
If you are of the opinion that the Rangers could have found a way to keep him and sign him, your view isn't changing. If your view is that this was a necessary evil, even with a suboptimal return, your opinion isn't changing. That is especially true after seeing what MAF went for or how Tampa found a way to cap circumvention by moving Tyler Johnson. I am stating that upfront.
My view is the first option. It is however ironic that the signing of Chris Kreider, which I was all for at the time, likely cost the Rangers, Buchnevich. None of us could have foreseen the pandemic or the flat cap, but maybe we should have - and by we, I mean me, the streakiness in his game and potential for decline that came to the fore last year.
I still think Buch could have fit in, even if for one year. This is recognizing that ice time is needed for the kids. But as noted before, the safety net is gone for Kakko, Kravtsov and Lafreniere with Buch gone. In addition, who says you couldn't have had a scoring third line, as i noted yesterday.
This is water under the bridge. But a slow start by any or most of those three next year and this argument will play out in the social media multiplied by 1000. GM Chris Drury better be right, because if he is wrong - and especially if Buch does take that next step forward - oh baby (JD pun intended)
Free agency targets:
The Rangers do need to keep cap flexibility for the future. This is true even if Eichel is not a member of the red, white and blue. Upcoming deals for Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin will eat up a healthy chunk of available cap space. Add in the possibility of re-signing Zib and your flexibility goes by the wayside. If that is the ask for Danault, thank you and good bye. As much as I have always liked him and the skill set he brings both defensively and between the dots, that price and years are excessive to me.
If Ryan Strome remains, does New York go with a short-term deal for someone like David Krjeci as a 3C if Strome is not moved and Filip Chyil shifts to wing? Does Ryan Geltzaf fit for a year, despite seeing the decline that started a few seasons ago? Derek Ryan was a rumored target in the past, is he worth a short-term look? As Vince Mergogliano wrote: "would 25-year-old Nick Ritchie, a bruising winger who is generating a lot of buzz, bet on himself to increase his value with a strong season and re-enter the market next year?"
Ritchie would add that physical component Drury wants and could slot on the third or fourth line. The same could be said for Jordan Martinook, though I prefer Ritchie. If none of the big name centers are added, that leaves Barclay Goodrow or Chytil as the 3C. Brooks postulates that Jujhar Khaira could be fourth line target, relegating Kevin Rooney to bench duty, though Morgan Barron may also be in the mix
Lines with no movement to date (with salaries thanks to Mercogliano):
Kreider on the third line is not optimal, but that's where he best fits on July 28. Ritchie would bump Barron or Rooney to the bench. Maybe Brandon Saad is a target for the third line, possibly Blake Coleman, though I think both might be too expensive both in terms of $ and maybe years. If Drury opts out of the Eichel talks or is includes Strome to lower the cap hit this year, the who knows.
First line → Alexis Lafrenière ($925,000) – Mika Zibanejad ($5.35 million) – Kaapo Kakko ($925,000)
Second line → Artemi Panarin ($11.642 million) – Ryan Strome ($4.5 million) – Vitali Kravtsov ($925,000)
Third line → Chris Kreider ($6.5 million) – Barclay Goodrow ($3.642 million) – Filip Chytil (RFA)
Fourth line → Morgan Barron ($925,000) – Kevin Rooney ($750,000) – Sammy Blais ($1.5 million)
Extra → Julien Gauthier ($775,000)
Pre-season schedule. Looks relatively familiar to prior seasons. This year, just sunstiture Boston in for what usually is Philly:
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