Photo: Andrew Theodorakis/NY Daily News

Photo: Andrew Theodorakis/NY Daily News

As Dave pointed out earlier in the week this offseason has been eerily quiet, especially considering the rumors early in the offseason that big changes were coming to the roster. Instead we’ve seen the Rangers make small, savvy moves like the recent acquisition of Josh Jooris. While it’s entirely possible that there’s still a trade to be made (I remain cautiously optimistic, as usual) I think its also worth entertaining the notion that the Rangers have waited too long to make any serious trades.

The possibility that the organization’s conservative approach so far has resulted in any potential trade market drying up shouldn’t be cause for doom and gloom however, at least not entirely. Due to the Rangers’ unique RFA situation, with more than 2 players filing for arbitration, the Rangers now have a second buyout window. If the market for trades really has dried up it may be in the organization’s best interests to utilize that buyout window to clear at least some cap space for the future.

Outside of Henrik Lundqvist the biggest contracts on the Rangers’ roster are Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi. At the risk of committing hot takery I think it’s safe to say that while Nash and Stepan both have legitimate trade value still and/or value to the team, Staal and Girardi do not. If the Rangers were to use the second buyout window to clear a contract from their books, it would make sense then that it would be either Staal or Girardi bought out.

Running the numbers on the two potential buyouts offers some clarity as to which player would be more likely bought out (at least if the front office is acting prudently, which we’ll assume they are for this thought exercise).

A Marc Staal buyout would save the team $3.6 million in the first three years, $2.6 million in the following season for 2019-2020, and then comes the bad news. Due to the way the contract is structured starting in 2020-2021 the team would actually be losing money on the buyout to the tune of $146,666 in the first year and then $1.3 million each following year until 2026. Just for clarity’s sake the cap hits would be $2 million from 2016-2019, $3 million for 2019-2020, $5.8 million the following season, and then $1.3 million each following season until 2025-2026. Suffice to say this one’s a bit of a doozy.

On the other hand a Dan Girardi buyout would be a little bit more manageable. The Rangers would save $3.75 million in 2016-2017, $2.75 the following season, and then $1.75 million for two seasons, followed by negative savings of $1.25 million each season until 2023-2024. The corresponding cap hits for each of these seasons would be $1.75 million next season, $2.75 million the following, $3.75 million for the next two, and then $1.25 million from 2020-2024. Although not exactly ideal, it’s still a much easier pill to swallow than Marc Staal’s buyout.

All of this of course would involve the front office weighing the costs and benefits of buying out either player’s contract, which I’ll admit I have no idea how they would lean in the event that they’d even consider buying out either Marc Staal or Dan Girardi. Something worth considering when weighing these kinds of things however is this: good players on entry level contracts would essentially subsidize the sunk costs incurred by either buyout, and the savings could be used to lock up valuable players long term or sign some half-decent roster players. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, although I can certainly understand the hesitation. Additionally, all of this is hypothetical, but if the Rangers really have tried and failed to make trades thus far in the offseason, it may be at least worth considering utilizing the second buyout window.

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