Rangers Roundup: Ryan Lindgren close, and will next year’s cap go higher than expected?
Ryan Lindgren once again did not practice with the New York Rangers on Wednesday, but instead skated on his own.
Head coach Gerard Gallant ruled out his best defensive defenseman for tomorrow’s matchup versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. That makes eight straight games he will have missed since being injured.
“He’s still day-to-day, not playing tomorrow,” Gallant updated. “He’s getting close. We’re in a situation where we are going to make sure. There’s no sense putting him back in for one game and something goes wrong. He’s progressing everyday. There’s been no setback. We’ve just got to be smart here.”
Ryan Lindgren to miss 8th straight game
Lindgren, 25, has 17 points in 56 games this season and was injured on a questionable hit by the Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie on February 25.
In the team’s 6-3 loss to Capitals, Oshie hit him almost from behind dangerously close to the boards. Lindgren came up favoring his left shoulder in great pain and headed straight for the locker room during the first period.
“Dirty hit. [Lindgren] had no chance to protect himself,” Gallant said afterwards. “I’m disappointed it wasn’t a five-minute major. For me it’s a cheap hit and I like that hockey player.”
Adam Fox has been paired with Niko Mikkola in the interim and the two have had several miscues. However, the pairing has been getting better with more familiarity.
Regardless, the head coach would like to get his top pairing of Fox and Lindgren back together soon.
“It’s not easy,” Gallant said. “And they’re best friends too. You see them all the time together. Again, it’s not going to be much longer.”
Fox, 25, has 60 points in 67 games on the year. Including the game Lindgren was hurt, Fox only has registered 7 assists in 10 matches and is a -4.
NHL Salary Cap
Next year’s salary cap is expected to go up by one million from $82.5 to $83.5 million.
According to multiple reports, Gary Bettman believes there’s a chance the cap ceiling could go up to around $86.5 million based on solid revenue projections. This is tied to escrow owed to the owners is paid in full. If not, the raise will come for the 2024-25 season.
Bettman noted that even if that’s not the case, the players have expressed an interest in seeing the cap go up. Ultimately, that means an increase in escrow rates which the new head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh may have no interest in doing.
“We’re hearing around the bend from players and others that there may be interest in having that [discussion],” Bettman said.
NHL.com
The Rangers would benefit greatly from a $4 million cap increase. They have a number of RFAs they need to sign and would possibly entertain keeping Patrick Kane around Broadway for a bit longer.
Key RFAs
- Alexis Lafreniere
- K’Andre Miller
- Filip Chytil
Key UFAs
- Patrick Kane
- Vladimir Tarasenko
- Tyler Motte
- Niko Mikkola
- Jaroslav Halak
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