Filip Chytil, K’Andre Miller, and Alexis Lafreniere are all pending RFAs this offseason for the NY Rangers. While Miller and Lafreniere are heading into their second contracts, Chytil is heading into his third contract and is just two seasons away from unrestricted free agency. The salary cap ceiling is only going up by $1 million, making things difficult for Chris Drury. As all three of this trio continue to play exceptional hockey and put points up on the scoreboard, it’s clear they will force the Rangers to move a contract this summer.
Chytil is currently third on the Rangers with 19 goals and sixth on the club with 35 points in just 44 games. At a full 52 game pace thus far, he’d likely be fourth in points –passing Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck–and third in goals, passing Kreider. He has forced himself and the Kid Line into the top-six conversation, making many wonder if the Trocheck contract will blow up in Drury’s face. And this coming from someone who likes Trocheck and his style of play.
Lafreniere’s season got off to a rough start, but the reunification of the Kid Line has given him a renewed confidence. Laf has points in six of his last seven games, for a line of 3-4-7 in that span. He likely won’t hit his 19 goal total from last season, especially if Chytil continues his bender, but he will most certainly pass his career high for points (35) this season. His 8-17-25 line is already a career high in assists. As he, Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko continue to roll, that stat line gets better and better.
Miller has established himself as the best left handed defenseman on a team that also includes Ryan Lindgren, which is saying something. He has very quietly put up a line of 5-23-28, shattering his career high in assists and points, and is two goals shy of his career high from last season.
The Rangers have just $16 million in cap space next year to re-sign this trio, plus possibly Vitali Kravtsov and Julien Gauthier. The latter duo isn’t going to be nearly as expensive, but this trio could very easily command more than the $16 million they have available. Drury also needs to dress a full team, complete with a 13F, 7D, and backup goalie. That $16 million goes quickly when filling in the back half of the roster plus the three kids.
As Russ mentioned in his Chytilmania post, the Rangers should be looking to emulate the Tampa Bay Lightning salary cap approach. The Lightning have always handed out big contracts while exploiting kids on their entry level deals. Then when the time comes for the kids to get big raises, they find ways to move contracts. Sometimes this requires attaching a draft pick, sometimes not.
For the Rangers, there is only one player with a big enough contract to free up cap space that also doesn’t have a no-move clause, and that is Barclay Goodrow. Goodrow, a key cog for the Rangers both in the locker room and in the bottom six, has a 15 team no trade clause. He’s also that key veteran presence the NHL loves, and his contract likely wouldn’t be a deterrent to an old school General Manager. A team like the Florida Panthers, assuming they can trade a goalie, might be all over this. Perhaps Calgary and reuniting with Blake Coleman is an option as well.
There is always a way to get rid of a contract, and the Rangers will likely need to do that this summer if they want to sign all three of Lafreniere, Miller, and Chytil to more than just a one year bridge deal. It’s a good thing to see, that these kids are forcing the Rangers to keep them. But it’s also a double edged sword.
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