Another off-season begins for the fans and supporters of the New York Rangers. Promise and progress amongst the several high-profile prospects in the organization provide hope for a club that was eliminated from the Stanley Cup on it’s 82nd and last match of the NHL season.
The hard work for the Rangers’ front office begins now as general manager Glen Sather and his intrepid and stalwart crew of coaches and scouts must not only plan for the club’s future in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, but also decide which of 8 restricted free agents and 14 unrestricted free agents to re-sign. With roughly $10.5 M in salary cap room available (estimation calculated using capgeek.com) the Rangers must carefully allocate that salary to the players that will best help the club going forward. This may necessitate deciding who is expendable.
Defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen has already parted ways with the Rangers and signed with HC Sibir Novosibirsk of the Russian KHL. The 25-year-old was a steady two-way contributor with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford, and played 7 matches with the parent club last season.
Forward Dane Byers recently signed a contract extension at an undisclosed salary. The re-signing cements the idea that the hard-working young power forward is very much a part of the Rangers’ future. Perhaps he will feature regularly for the Blueshirts as early as this coming season. Time and training camp will tell.
The following is a list of the other players currently out of contract with the Rangers:
Restricted Free Agents (8)
Forwards - Lisin, Christensen, Prust, Dupont
Defense - Girardi, Staal, Valentenko, Sauer
Unrestricted Free Agents (14)
Forwards - Jokinen, Prospal, Shelley, Parenteau, Crowder, Ambuhl, Arnason, Locke, Newbury
Defense - Eriksson, Potter
Goaltender - Auld, Valiquette, Zaba
Who will get a raise? Will anyone take a salary cut to remain with the club? Who will stay? Who will leave or be cast adrift to test the free agent market? Stay tuned.
Predictions will be made and conclusions drawn in the upcoming 22 part series “Better Know a Ranger on the Bubble.”
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2 comments:
Hey there. Thanks for the update on an Original 6 team. Speaking of Original 6 [cough], what'd you think of Game 6's final goal? Word on sports radio so far is that it was a soft goal. (Tony Bruno, an even-handed Philly fan relatively speaking, says this while giving Leighton a lot of credit for his run). I don't think I agree; I never would have expected a goal from a shot at that angle. Flukey, in my mind, not soft.
Also, what's you prediction for Sat's US match?
Thanks!
Kane's overtime winner wasn't a soft goal in my opinion...just an odd one. Kane's wrist shot was hard enough and accurate enough to five-hole Leighton as he was moving his legs to get in position to block off the short side. It looked like a skillful goal in my reckoning at least, less about Leighton's position, and more about the accuracy and velocity of Kane's wrist shot. The weird thing was the way the puck became hidden in the goal skirt.
For the World Cup match between England and United States I will predict a United States victory. 1:2 will be the score as it's not reasonable to expect America to keep a clean sheet vs. Lampard, Rooney, Gerrard, etc. The reason we will win is that USA have nothing to lose as we're expected to be soundly beaten. If England fails to beat us though, it will be a serious loss of face for them. The English will be bested by their own nerves, their own fear of failure.
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