Emerson Etem

Will Etem represent value for money? (Photo: Jerome Miron – USA TODAY Sports)

‘Tis the season. It’s that time of year when teams look to lock up their free agents and it’s the time of year when a lot of long term deals get hammered out. The latest of those long term deals came this week as Ryan Kesler signed a 6 year pact with the Ducks for 41.25m. Kesler is a quality two way center and for a while, exactly what the Rangers would have liked at the 2C spot.

While Kesler is clearly at a different point in his career, he does offer some reflection on the Derek Stepan situation. Kesler averages around 50-55 points for his career and plays a very good two way game. He’s had good playoff success and with his reputation even $6.8m per year appears a team friendly deal for the Ducks – at least in the short term. Could the Rangers refer to Kesler in the Stepan negotiations?

Johnny Oduya has signed with a new team and has stayed out West but has left Chicago for Dallas. Oduya is a solid two way defenseman and has plenty left in the tank. His signing for two years at $3.75m per year is great value for Dallas but also is another example of how the market has bottomed out this summer. With all the panic at what defenseman, and players in general, would get this summer it really hasn’t happened.

Those of you interested, might want to see Marc Staal in a different light on TSN here.

So the Rangers have all of Emerson Etem, Jesper Fast, J.T. Miller and Oscar Lindberg for a combined $3.325m cap hit for next season. Assuming all four start in New York (with Lindberg being the most tenuous) that’s exceptional value. There’s a reasonable chance three of the four could be 30-40 point players. These signings represent the great start Jeff Gorton has made as general manager.

Training camp competition: assuming he continues to struggle to attract a new deal, I’d not hesitate to bring James Sheppard in on a try-out. When he played, he was a solid player for the Rangers and would be an ideal 13th forward. Of course, it appears to be a crowded bottom six right now already.

Fast and Lindberg in particular will be fascinating to watch this coming season as next year, when Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes need new deals, assuming Lindberg and Fast stick – and develop – their combined cap hit of $1.6m will represent great cap bargains if they do continue to grow. Every successful team needs value for money on its roster.

So, the Rangers (according to NHL numbers) have approximately $6.9m left in cap space (this includes $600k a piece to Adam Luke and Brian Gibbons, who will be sent down) to bring Derek Stepan into the fold. It would be spectacular if they could add him for under $6.5m and not force themselves into a cap saving move.

Over the past four years, the Rangers average age on the roster has gone up from around 27 to 28.2. Nothing significant but when you consider the likely departures of Dan Boyle and Dominic Moore sooner rather than later, that age takes a tumble.

Stating the obvious: Does Larry Brooks watch the Rangers and the organization? He questions Oscar Lindberg’s defensive abilities, face-off skills and calls him an offensive minded center. Lindberg isn’t an offensive minded center. He’s a classic two way player who will help a team at both ends of the rink. He may not have the experience and PK credentials of a Dom Moore (not many do) but that doesn’t mean Lindberg cannot add value to a roster. We usually don’t call out professionals like this, but the scouting report was so blatantly incorrect that we had to get the proper information out there.

Question time:

  • When the puck drops on next season will Dylan McIlrath be a Ranger?
  • Will the Rangers move a significant contract before the season starts?
  • Who will be the Rangers top scoring center this season?
  • Over/under time: Rick Nash, 40 goals, over or under?
  • Over/under time II: Henrik Lundqvist, 40 wins, over or under?
  • Who would you like to see get a camp try out and why?
  • As of now (and assuming Stepan gets signed) what is the biggest weakness of the Rangers roster?

 

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