What’s next for Rangers after re-signing Jonathan Quick, further solidifying roster for next season
As the New York Rangers continue to battle for a playoff spot n the Eastern Conference this season, management is keeping its eye on next season and beyond.
To that end, the Rangers signed backup goalie Jonathan Quick to a one-year, $1.55 million contract Wednesday, keeping their goalie tandem along with Igor Shesterkin intact for a third straight season in 2025-26.
It’s the second move in the past week aimed at bringing cost certainty to New York’s salary cap next season, as well as retaining a player by signing him before the offseason. Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen agreed to a two-year, $3.1 million contract with the Rangers last Friday.
At 39, Quick is content going year by year to decide how long he wishes to keep playing. The Connecticut native has been a perfect fit as the No. 2 behind Shesterkin and it always felt like if he wanted to return, the Rangers planned to keep him.
This is the third one-year contract that the three-time Stanley Cup winner signed with the Rangers, after first agreeing to a deal on July 1, 2023. His AAV has grown from $825,000 to $1.275 million to $1.55 million next season.
Per PuckPedia, the Rangers have now committed $84,886,191 in salary to 17 roster players for next season. That leaves the Rangers roughly $10.6 million in salary-cap space to fill out the roster.
So, here’s what’s next for the Rangers now that they signed Quick for next season.
Related: Should Alexis Lafreniere be playing for his Rangers future next season
New York Rangers offseason to-do list
Sign restricted free agents K’Andre Miller, Will Cuylle
Though there’s a chance the Rangers could pivot and look to trade erratic defenseman K’Andre Miller, signs point to them signing him this offseason. The 25-year-old’s production has dropped significantly for a second straight season (from 43 points in 2022-23 to 17 this season) and he can be a nightmare in his own end at times. But the Rangers seem to be intrigued with the idea of partnering him with Adam Fox as a longer-term answer on the No. 1 defense pair, after a pretty successful run together at the start of this season.
What’s it going to cost to sign the restricted free agent who has arbitration rights, though? It’s safe to say Miller is in line for a significant raise off his current $3.872 million AAV, so he’s going to chew into that limited salary-cap space.
Then there’s Cuylle, who’s rookie contract expires at the end of this season. The 23-year-old is due a nice raise, too, though will likely end up on a bridge deal, not a long-term one. Still, on his way to his first 20-goal season, Cuylle will also eat into the cap. Unlike Miller, though, there’s seems to be zero question that Cuylle is a part of this team next season and beyond.
There are other Rangers free agents to consider
Chris Drury did a good job cleaning out the Rangers roster of pending unrestricted free agents before the NHL Trade Deadline. He was able to acquire assets for Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and Reilly Smith, none of whom were going to be re-signed this summer.
That leaves veteran Calvin de Haan as the lone pending UFA on the roster. A placeholder and extra defenseman for now with Fox injured, de Haan won’t be re-signed either this summer.
There are several pending RFAs other than Miller and Cuylle to consider. Topping that list is defenseman Zac Jones, and forwards Matt Rempe, Juuso Parssinen and Adam Edstrom. Rempe and Edstrom are keepers, who should each receive minor bumps coming off their rookie contracts. Parssinen and Arthur Kaliyev are not sure bets to land new contracts — their respective play down the stretch will decide each of their futures in New York.
It doesn’t feel like Jones will be back. He’s been a ‘tweener with the Rangers, good enough to be an NHL player, not good enough to be a lineup regular. The Rangers could trade him because there will be teams intrigued by Jones’ offensive upside.
Rangers largely set on defense and in goal
There’s probably no room for Jones again next season because Drury has pretty much locked up all of the spots on the defense corps for next season. There’s Fox, Will Borgen and Braden Schneider all signed to play on the right side — Borgen agreeing to a five-year contract after he was acquired earlier this season from the Seattle Kraken.
Assuming Miller is re-signed, that means the left side is set with him, recently-acquired Carson Soucy and now Vaakanainen under contract. Jones already complained about his limited role earlier this season. He’s not going to accept the same one next season.
The Rangers could do one of two things here: pick up an inexpensive player to be the extra defenseman since there are no appealing options at Hartford. Or they could aim higher and try to land a lineup regular with the thought of making Vaakanainen the extra d-man. Just saying that, oh, Jakob Chychrun, Miller and Soucy down the left side does hold quite a bit of appeal. Of course that’s an expensive pipe dream, but it’s worth noting that the Rangers still could upgrade the left side.
As mentioned earlier, the Rangers are set in goal with Shesterkin and Quick. That’ll mean another year of seasoning in the minors for 22-year-old Dylan Garand.
Rangers have more flexibility up front
If the Rangers wish to shake up the roster more, than it’s going to come by moving out a forward or two. That’s where the money is and that’s where the opportunity for the most significant change is. We all know that if Drury can trade Chris Kreider and his $6.5 million cap hit, he’ll do it. But what about Mika Zibanejad ($8.5 million AAV) or Alexis Lafreniere ($7.45 million AAV) or even Artemi Panarin on an expiring $11.64 million AAV? It all seems unlikely, but, who knows? All bets are off with Drury, though working around no-move clauses makes things more difficult. And remember, you ship one of these players out, you’ve got to replace them in the top-six forward group.
It still feels like Drury wants to make at least one more major change to this core. Maybe it ends up being Miller who gets dealt. But more likely it’ll be a forward.
In the Rangers’ best world next season, 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault is playing, and excelling, in a top-six role after signing his rookie entry-level contract. And Brennan Othmann takes that next step to be a productive everyday forward, too. That’ll help grow the base of talent and be cost effective with two key contributors on rookie deals. Again, that’s a best-case scenario. And not one Drury will likely count on when he goes shopping this summer.
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