Signing Jacob Trouba longterm is Rangers top focus
Acquiring Jacob Trouba was the Rangers top priority this offseason. Jeff Gorton stated after winning the lottery that fixing the defense was a big goal and having also acquired Adam Fox addressed that.
Once Trouba was in the fold, the next focus was to land the prized UFA of the summer. Landing offensive star, Artemi Panarin was costly at $11.6M and ate up most of their cap space but it had to be done. Now with just around $9M left, the Rangers will need to make moves to get all RFA’s signed, and get cap compliant.
For more on that read: Rangers working on trades and a buyout
Recently, rumors have surfaced that 4 Eastern teams, 2 former teams are interested in signing UFA Derrick Brassard (per translation). Just for the record, assuming it’s the Rangers is ridiculous considering 5 or the 6 teams he has played for are considered Eastern. More likely than not, it is the Penguins and Jackets that make the most sense, and to some degree the Panthers or Senators.
Per sources close to the situation, the Rangers primary focus is to lock up Trouba to a 7 year deal between $7M to $8M. As to what is holding it up is unknown, and will likely start to raise concern if this gets close to his July 25th arbitration date.
Once this gets accomplished, the Rangers will have a better understanding of remaining cap space and what moves they need to make to accommodate. As for signing any UFA’s? That won’t be in the cards until they take care of their house first.
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