Rangers Are Tight on Cap and Contracts – What About John Moore
John Moore (Getty)
The Blueshirts have acquired their man in Kevin Hayes but John Moore is still out in the cold. According to CapGeek, Hayes comes in at 900K and leaves little room for John Moore.
Now for the fun part – this is where I assume Glen Sather’s job (well, probably someone else’s, but I have no one to boss around while I chomp a cigar).
NYR 2014/15 Roster (Does Not Reflect Possible Line Combos) – CapGeek.com
It doesn’t take an economics or statistics major to tell you the Rangers are in a little trouble, but the good news is that there’s some wiggle room. For those unaware, the Rangers are allowed (per CBA) to go 10% over the cap up until the season is set to open. That means, they can have about 7 million more in salary on their roster – and yes, the Rangers aren’t going to do that.
Another issue is the Blueshirts are at 50 max contracts. That won’t be a big problem after some are returned to Hartford or their minor league teams. Still, with less than 800K in cap space, how will they fit John Moore who wants 850K or more? That will be interesting to say the least.
We’ve already written that their was the potential for a hold out and we feel the odds grow everyday. If Moore does play hardball (he’d be doing it with the wrong guy in Sather), Mike Kostka and Matt Hunwick will be the 6th and 7th defensemen. That would easily fix all the Rangers cap issues.
Of course, that is not the optimal Rangers lineup. We have to expect the Rangers will also have one or two moves to make it all work. If I knew exactly what they were, I’d be in a suit at 2 Penn Plaza.
For now, I’ll just work hard to keep you posted on any developments.
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