New York Rangers, Chris Drury Accomplish A Lot On Day 1 Of NHL Free Agency
Blueshirts add a boatload of depth on the cheap...
There were few more active teams than the New York Rangers as NHL Free Agency opened on Saturday, and they were able to get a lot done all at a bargain price.
While the door appears shut on a return for Vladimir Tarasenko - although maybe not for Patrick Kane - the Blueshirts were able to address some real key needs despite being right up against the salary cap.
As was reported by The Athletic’s Arthur Staple on Friday, the Rangers announced the signing of three-time Stanley Cup champion and veteran goalie Jonathan Quick to a one-year, $825k deal. Shortly after that, New York made one of the first major moves of the day by giving a one-year, $800k, bonus-laden contract to veteran wing Blake Wheeler, who was bought out by the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. There was also a one-year, $800,000 contract for reliable center Nick Bonino.
Rangers General Manager Chris Drury then stocked the cupboard by making a slew of depth signings, adding forwards Tyler Pitlick, Riley Nash and Alex Belzile, and defensemen Connor Mackey and Nikolas Brouillard. Nash and Pitlick, with just under 1,000 games of NHL experience between them, are good fallback options to have if injuries strike, while the others will compete for jobs in the AHL. At the end of the day, you can never have too much depth within an organization.
It seems that if there was a player, no matter the age or position, willing to sign for less than $1 million, than Chris Drury was willing to pick up the phone and make a compelling pitch for them to come and play in New York.
And Drury wasn’t done there either. In what was somewhat of a surprise later on in the day, the Rangers announced a deal for defenseman Erik Gustafsson on a one-year contract worth $825k. A busy few hours bargain shopping meant that Drury had signed a total of 9 players for less than $7.5 million.
That’s what you call working on a tight budget.
According to CapFriendly, the Blueshirts now have $6,175,417 left in cap space with Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller needing new deals. Plus, there’s still potential for Patrick Kane to return, but more on that later.
For now, let’s focus on the work done by Drury and the Rangers today. Outside of the handful of pure depth signings that were made, I’m going to run through the four new additions that will be on the Opening Night roster in October.
We’ll start with Jonathan Quick. The 2011-12 Conn Smythe winner is far removed from the player he once was and he’s firmly entrenched in the back-nine of his career. That’s for sure. Quick had a 3.41 Goals-Against Average and a .882 Save Percentage in 41 games split between the LA Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights last year. Granted, he did win his third Stanley Cup thanks to being on the Vegas roster, but overall it was a rough year for Quick and his SV% has dipped below .900 in three of the last five seasons.
However, you aren’t paying less than $1 million for a goaltender that is at the peak of his powers. What the Rangers are paying for is a true veteran who has been there, come up clutch in a ton of big games and got a decent haul of hardware to show for it all. Igor Shesterkin will get the bulk of the workload, but if Quick can be just solid in 25 or so starts then it will have been money well spent. Plus, you can’t discount the fact that Quick grew up as a Rangers fan and that will no doubt give him extra motivation to perform in what could be his final year in the NHL.
While Quick was a smart addition, one of the biggest bargains of the day came later after the Rangers announced a one-year, $800k deal for winger Blake Wheeler. While there could be $300,000 due in bonuses, this is a no-brainer, home-run, swing-for-the-fences, low-risk, high-reward type of move for New York and Drury. This is exactly the type of move teams that are right up against the cap are meant to make. It’s called getting creative.
Wheeler reportedly wanted a new challenge on the East Coast and he’s seemingly taken less money than he could have got elsewhere in order to come and play for a contender in The Big Apple. Sure, Wheeler, like Quick, isn’t the player he once was and his best, elite days are behind him. He’s not quick, he probably won’t be much of a help in his own zone and he’s not going to get you 90 points a season.
However, what Wheeler will give you is a lethal option on the second power-play unit, an excellent option as a depth scorer on the third-line, a more than capable second-line wing if needed, a key veteran voice in the room for new Head Coach Peter Laviolette to lean on, and elite playmaking ability. People forget Wheeler put up 55 points (16 G, 39 A) in 72 games for the Jets last year. He also won’t have the pressure of being the go-to leader as he was in Winnipeg, and a lesser role in New York should allow Wheeler the freedom to do what he does best: produce at a high level.
Plus, the Rangers were in real need of a right-shot winger - it has been a glaring weakness for a while - and having Wheeler on the third-line should allow Kaapo Kakko more time in the top-six. Giving Kakko and Alexis Lafrenière more opportunities to develop in 2023-24 is going to be absolutely critical for the Blueshirts and, as it pertains to Kakko, that’s another added benefit of bringing Wheeler into the fold.
It is a win-win deal all round and, for $800k, it is a move the Rangers had to make. We could be looking at this as even more of a bargain this time next year if Wheeler is able to have a positive impact on this team.
As much as I loved the Wheeler signing, I also sneakily really, really liked the addition of Nick Bonino. As is a common theme with all the moves made by the Rangers on Saturday, the 35-year-old has waved goodbye to his best hockey, but he should be a real nice depth piece for this team. The two-time Stanley Cup winner is exactly the kind of fourth-line center you’d build in a lab. He can play on the penalty kill, he wins faceoffs, he can block shots and execute big hits for fun, he’s responsible in his own zone and he can provide a little bit of offense too. Bonino tallied 26 points (16 G, 10 A) as recently as the 2021-22 season, and he may have surpassed that total last year were it not for suffering a lacerated kidney shortly after being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Trade Deadline. Bonino has played under Laviolette before in Nashville and he will allow Barclay Goodrow to move back to his more natural home on the wing, so this is a deal that ticks a lot of boxes.
As for Erik Gustafsson, this is another low-risk, high-reward move that makes a lot of sense. You would think that Gustafsson will partner Braden Schneider on the third-pairing, giving the Rangers more offensive upside from that spot. Gustafsson could also replace Jacob Trouba on the second power play unit, which would again be an upgrade offensively. Gustafsson has a hell of a shot and he recorded 42 points (7 G, 35 A) in 2022-23 for the Capitals and the Maple Leafs, with 38 of those points coming under Laviolette in Washington. Gustafsson is a different option for the Rangers and he offers something different to what was already in place on the backend.
Overall, you can’t really say Drury put a step wrong in the opening hours of NHL Free Agency. Sure, there were some who wanted Vladimir Tarasenko back but that was never likely because of the salary cap situation. Instead, Drury went out and added a bunch of proven vets who know what it takes to win in the NHL, players who have worked with the new Head Coach before, a legitimate fourth-line center in Bonino, a highly-skilled playmaker in Wheeler who will have something to prove, an accomplished backup goalie in Quick who can act as a mentor to Igor Shesterkin and a wildcard option in Gustafsson who gives the third-pairing a different look. Oh, and Drury also flooded the organization with a bunch of depth options too. It was a good day at the office.
Plus, there’s still enough room under the cap to sign both K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafrenière to bridge deals. Once those boxes are ticked, there should still be an opportunity to try and bring a healthy Patrick Kane back to Broadway. After all, there’s no rush and the Blueshirts can kick that can down the road when it comes to Showtime. Kane underwent hip resurfacing surgery in June and he’s likely to be out for between four-to-six months. The good news, however, is that given Kane wants to continue playing for a long time coupled with his desire to play in New York again, a reunion both seems likely and would make sense. The Rangers could re-sign Kane, place him on LTIR in order to be cap compliant for the start of the regular season and then bring him back down the stretch when he’s fully recovered. In that scenario, you would be getting a healthy and motivated Kane just in time for the postseason, and that could be a very dangerous weapon to have in your back pocket.
Anyway, there’s plenty of time for that situation to play out and, again, there’s no rush for the Blueshirts or Kane given his current recovery timeframe. That’s a deal that could take shape much further down the road.
For now, the New York Rangers and Chris Drury were able to fill a lot of holes and flood the organization with much-needed depth on the cheap and despite not having a lot of cap flexibility. Whatever happens the rest of the way, the Blueshirts used the first day of NHL Free Agency to ensure they will head into Training Camp with more options, more flexibility and more hunger. Whether that translates to success in the Playoffs remains to be seen, but it is a good start.
