Sather will be honoured by the Oilers in December. Rightly so.

With a full weekend to cope with the Rangers losing Game 7, the time has come to shift gears. As Chris mentioned yesterday, we are going to spend the next few weeks discussing the draft, free agency, the roster, and key decision the Rangers need to make this summer. We will also be talking about what went right for the Rangers, and what they lacked. Chris also started this discussion yesterday.

The salary cap for next season is expected to be at $71.5 million, up from $69 million this past season. That doesn’t give the Rangers a lot of wiggle room to improve the team. They already have $59.5 million committed to next year, and that doesn’t include guaranteed raises to RFAs Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin, J.T. Miller, and Jesper Fast. Once those guys are under contract, the Rangers have almost nothing left.

With exactly $12 million in cap space, it’s safe to assume at least $11 million goes to those four guys. Stepan is likely to get $6 million, Hagelin $3 million, and Miller/Fast $1.1 million a piece. That leaves the Rangers with less than $1 million in space with the following questions:

  • How are they going to clear cap space? (Buying out Dan Boyle won’t work, he’s a 35+ contract so the cap hit remains)
  • Are they going to re-sign Martin St. Louis? If so, it’s going to cost them Hagelin.
  • Are they going to make room for Brady Skjei? If so, who is the odd-man out on the blue line. You may not like the answer, but it’s likely Kevin Klein at $2.9 million.
  • What can they get for a Klein/Cam Talbot ($1.45 million) package? The Oilers and Sharks are in need of both players. That’s $4.35 million in much-needed cap space.
  • If they trade Klein, can Ryan McDonagh play the right side?
  • Which kids are ready for next year? Skjei seems to be a given, but can Oscar Lindberg secure a spot? Ryan Bourque? Dylan McIlrath? Conor Allen? All four are at a crossroads in their Rangers’ careers.

These are just a few of the questions that need to be addressed. The biggest issue is the cap space, and that alone is going to be the cause for some roster turnover next season. With precious few seasons remaining in Henrik Lundqvist’s window, expect Glen Sather/Jeff Gorton (whoever runs the team nowadays) to continue to go all-in.

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