Catching you up on all the news surrounding the Rangers and what it means.
Lemieux inks one year deal
Late yesterday, news broke that Brendan Lemieux signed a one year deal just a little over his qualifying offer. The $925,000 salary isn’t what Lemieux or his agent were hoping for but it certainly puts them in great position to capitalize next season when Lemieux will be an RFA with arbitration rights.
Expect to see Lemieux a lot this season jumping between the 3rd and 4th lines. His agitating style and ability to put the puck in the net gives David Quinn a great weapon he can utilize in various ways against different opponents.
Tony DeAngelo Situation
The young defenseman basically put up a half a point per game last season and won’t be signing for under a million dollars. That means this is going to drag on. Per Larry Brooks’ latest, his agent states that they and the Rangers are looking at “different solutions”.
What we don’t know is how much DeAngelo is looking for. One thing is certain is that at this moment, the Rangers have almost $2M in cap space. They can’t use all of it on DeAngelo because then they won’t be able to make emergency call ups without someone going on LTIR.
Which means, the Rangers could possibly be looking to trade DeAngelo before the start of the season. Maybe a sign and trade? That means Brendan Smith would likely play on the 3rd pairing with Libor Hajek come opening night.
Also, it doesn’t sound like the Rangers will put themselves into a predicament in being forced to trade Kreider. At this moment, his value is too low due cap circumstances. So if the Rangers do make a trade, it could very well be DeAngelo on the way out.
While that may strike some of you odd, realize that the Rangers are already trying to figure out how to fit both Nils Lundkvist and K’Andre Miller into the lineup next season. If DeAngelo is moved Ryan Lindgren is the obvious choice to make the team right now.
