tyler seguin

Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Like most Rangers fans, we here are not really expecting the Rangers to be legitimate contenders in the 2018-2019 season. They won’t be tanking, and in fact their forward group –and Henrik Lundqvist– has the ability to carry them to a surprise playoff appearance. That said, it’s not expected, so there’s already an eye on next year, the trades that can be made, and the free agents available.

Unlike this past offseason, where the prize free agents weren’t really prizes at all, next year’s crop of free agents is a big budget team’s dream. Artemi Panarin, at just 27 is just one of the many headliners of a class poised to make boatloads of money. The Rangers have been directly connected to Panarin already, or at least we want to think that. But any team looking to add elite talent will have the ability to do so without surrendering assets.

In addition to Artemi Panarin, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, and Jeff Skinner are all elite level players that will be 27 heading into unrestricted free agency. Panarin, Stone, and Duchene are more than likely to hit the market, while there’s a chance Seguin and Skinner re-sign with their teams.

That’s just the 27 year olds. There are also 28-29 year olds Erik Karlsson and Jordan Eberle who are going to hit the market. Add Max Pacioretty to the under-30 but not 27 group as well. That’s eight elite level players that are currently slated to hit the market, and all have a good chance of actually doing so.

At the next tier, there are names like Tyler Myers, Kevin Hayes, Gustav Nyquist, Brock Nelson, Jake Gardiner, Jakob Silvferberg, Anders Lee, and Ryan Ellis. All at this tier are again under 30 years old and are top-six players. If you’re counting along, that’s eight elite level players and eight top-six players.

For the Rangers, a team that may have elite talent from the draft, but is banking on determining that this season, there are many attractive names that can fit under the cap and can have a big impact on the team. If you’re of the belief that Mika Zibanejad isn’t a 1C, then shifting him to the 2C for Seguin certainly looks mighty fine.

All this certainly holds true for a team that isn’t sure if their top picks –Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson– are bonafide centers, or if they will wind up on the wing. Someone like Seguin or Duchene puts that concern to bed if neither can a 1C/2C. Either way, the potential for Seguin/Duchene-Zibanejad-Chytil-Andersson down the middle might be the best center group in hockey. Pure speculation, though.

Jeff Gorton is a smart man. If there’s a way to add one of these elite talents without jeopardizing the future, in either salary cap or roster space, it would behoove him to make such a move. This is the best class of free agents we’ve ever seen, and may ever see in the salary cap era.

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