Talk about must wins. Coming off a bad loss, surrendering the most goals all season. And now the Rangers face-off against the worst team in the NHL. As stated in our three things to look for, the Rangers simply must come away with two points Monday.

After the weekend action in the NHL, the Rangers (14-11-1) are tied with the Islanders for fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 29 points. That is also tied for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, though it’s way too early for that talk, just 26 games into the season. But, still.

The Rangers are 11 points behind the first-place Washington Capitals, and have only one game in hand. Chew on that for a while.

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Rangers news

The Rangers led the Kraken 3-1 in the second period. Then the Rangers allowed five goals in a row and were losing 6-3 midway through the third period before staging a spirited — yet unsuccessful — comeback.

New York actually did plenty of good things Sunday. But the Rangers were undone by sloppy and “loose” defensive play in the loss.

At least Igor Shesterkin had some good news Sunday. He missed the Kraken game to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Not a bad week, that also included Shesterkin becoming the highest-paid goalie in NHL history.

NHL news

Former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba is expected to make his debut with the Anaheim Ducks after being traded there Friday, when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.

The New Jersey Devils looked flat, when they were shut out 4-0 by the Colorado Avalanche and backup goalie Scott Wedgewood.

Kyle Palmieri’s third-period power-play goal was the game winner when the Islanders edged the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli sustained an undisclosed injury in a 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks. He appeared to be hurt after a first-period hit, left the game and didn’t return.

Jesper Fast update

On September 1st, I reported that Jesper Fast was heading to free agency. He has been with the Blueshirts for the last seven seasons and the 28 year-old was on pace for a career high 35 points before COVID-19 stopped the NHL cold. He finished with 29 points in 69 contests and was the defensive conscience on a line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.

Last week, I followed up on the situation to see if there had been any change and it is status quo. If the Rangers want to keep Jesper it is going to take a very close to market offer in both term and salary to make it happen.

The rumor mill also has a few Metro teams now interested in the two-way forward. As we mentioned, the Nashville Predators were very interested at the last trade deadline. You can now include the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers to the mix.

Anthony Cirelli rumors persist

Lyle Richardson wrote today on Bleacher Report 8 Bold Predictions for NHL Free Agency. At the top of his list, the Rangers offer sheeting Anthony Cirelli.

I have adamantly said, there is no way that Jeff Gorton would do this, especially with four RFA’s of his own, Lyle makes the case. Obviously, Tampa is cap strapped and have Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev to re-sign. One of them could be a cap casualty for sure.

The Rangers, however, have $68 million invested in 16 players for next season. They could get an additional $8.5 million if Henrik Lundqvist retires or perhaps an additional $3 million-4 million if they pick up part of his salary to facilitate a trade or by buying him out. That should give Gorton room to sign Cirelli to a lucrative, long-term deal worth between $6 million-7 million annually, provided he is willing to sign.

B/R

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Who is Anthony Cirelli?

At 6′ and a 193 pounds, Anthony Cirelli is a big center. He is a finalist for the Selke Award which goes to the NHL’s best defensive forward. That’s pretty remarkable considering this is only his second year in the NHL.

Cirelli is also tough to play against and will be in your face from the opening buzzer to the final horn in OT if necessary. He is Tampa’s best penalty killer and currently serving as the team’s 2nd line center with Steven Stamkos out.

This past season, Cirelli scored 44 points in 68 games. For his career he has amassed 94 points in 168 contests. Rock solid numbers for a young center for sure.

Should the Rangers attempt to acquire Cirelli?

On a recent podcast, I spoke with NYR beat report, Vince Mercogliano who feels Cirelli would be the Rangers 2nd line center if acquired. I simply don’t feel that way. Listen, I think the kid is good but in 12 playoff games for Tampa he has a grand total of four points. They miss Stamkos for sure, regardless of the fact they are one game away from the Eastern Conference Final.

Look, the Rangers need centers, of that there is no doubt. However, I am not sold that Cirelli is going to blossom into a point a game type number two center everyone else believes he will be in Rangerstown. Still, he would make an ideal third line center for sure, and instantly make the team better.

What a realistic trade for Cirelli would look like

Let me start off by saying, the Lightning want to keep Cirelli and will make every effort to do so. However, Tampa has cap constraints and must also retain 4 other restricted free agents, one being Mikhail Sergachev. On top of that they have 5 other players heading to unrestricted status like Kevin Shattenkirk. By the way, they only have $5 million in cap space to get this done.

Should the Lightning be forced, a possible trade with the Rangers could see Filip Chytil and their second 1st round pick acquired from Carolina for the rights to Anthony Cirelli.

Why Filip Chytil?

Chytil makes sense because he seems better suited on the wing as David Quinn continues to put him there. He is also cost controlled for one more year at $894,166.

Cirelli would automatically slot into a 3C role on a loaded Rangers team and be a force with maybe Chris Kreider or Alexis Lafreniere. It would give the Rangers four solid centers if they re-sign Strome and keep Brett Howden on the 4th line.

As of right now, the Rangers have about $14 million in cap space and have their own RFA’s to sign. That makes all of this very tight, but still doable.

Forever Blueshirts Podcast – NYR offseason

Also in this episode, Vince and I tackle the Rangers restricted free agents, Henrik Lundqvist, a possible Anthony Cirelli trade and so much more.

Here’s a preview:

Check out the full podcast below.

New York Rangers rumors on Jesper Fast

Loyal readers of this site will recall that during the February trade deadline, I reported that the Nashville Predators had interest in pending UFA, Jesper Fast. Now Lyle Richardson of Sporting News, and Bleacher Report has him as a Press target in free agency.

The Nashville Predators have little salary-cap wiggle room for next season with $72.2 million invested in 17 players. With Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith unrestricted free agents, general manager David Poile could seek affordable replacements. One possibility is New York Rangers winger Jesper Fast

Bleacher Report

It is very likely that Fast will not be returning to the Rangers and Nashville will make him an offer.

New York Rangers rumors on Anthony Cirelli

Yesterday, I wrote about pending RFA Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It garnered lots of views and even made its way to fans in Tampa. Their reaction was one of shock more than anything as they don’t see Cirelli going anywhere.

There’s no way the Rangers offer sheet him. If Cirelli would cost the Rangers Filip Chytil and a 2nd or 3rd pick in a trade it makes more sense. The Rangers need pivots and Chytil seems better suited on the wing. Cirelli would automatically slot into a 3C role on a loaded Rangers team and be a force. It would give the Rangers four solid centers if they re-sign Strome or trade for a legit 2nd line center like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Henrik Lundqvist still on radio silence

It’s been 19 days since the Rangers were eliminated. To date, Henrik Lundqvist has yet to post anything on his social media accounts or give an interview. Read the Full Story here.

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Rangers rumors – Anthony Cirelli

In a recent article by Lyle Richardson for Bleacher Report, he writes the following.

Because Cirelli is completing an entry-level contract, the Lightning could attempt to sign him to an affordable short-term bridge deal. However, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is in the same boat, meaning even bridge deals could be difficult for those two.

The Lightning could be forced to shop Cirelli if he seeks far more than they can afford. They have a trade history with the Rangers. Maybe Gorton would be interested if the asking price involves prospects or draft picks other than their first-rounder for this season. If Henrik Lundqvist retires, that would free up an additional $8.5 million to invest in a lucrative deal for Cirelli.

Interesting points made by Lyle for the argument of trading for Cirelli who just scored 44 points in 68 games. Pretty good numbers, but not something I believe Gorton would risk his reputation on to use an underhanded offer-sheet for. Plus, Gorton has four of his own RFA’s to sign and retaliation would come swiftly.

Is Anthony Cirelli worth it?

The short answer is yes, but at what price? The Rangers need centers, of that there is no doubt. However, I am not sold that Cirelli is going to blossom into a point a game type number two center everyone else believes he will be in Rangerstown. And no, I am not going to look at your special charts and graphs to make that determination, for that matter, neither will Jeff Gorton.

If Cirelli would cost the Rangers Filip Chytil and a 2nd or 3rd pick, I am all for it. The Rangers need pivots and Chytil seems better suited on the wing. Cirelli would automatically slot into a 3C role on a loaded Rangers team and be a force. It would give the Rangers four solid centers if they re-sign Strome or trade for a legit 2nd line center like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

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Now that the San Jose Sharks have fallen short of winning Lord Stanley’s Cup yet again, the Erik Karlsson rumors are starting to pick up. After a recent tweet by him, as shown below, it seems as if Karlsson is going to hit the open market on July 1.

The Rangers seem to be a team that is finding it’s way in the mix for Karlsson, but as per The Athletic’s Rick Carpinello, the Rangers will not pursue the Swedish superstar. The team that has come up the most in regards to pursuing Karlsson is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Karlsson wants to play for a winner, and not to mention his good friend Victor Hedman is down there as well. The issue with this is how would Tampa Bay be able to afford Karlsson?

With just over $8 million in projected cap, the Bolts find themselves in a tight spot financially. Karlsson, who can easily make Drew Doughty money in terms of AAV ($11 million), will have to take a serious pay cut to play with his fellow Swede and the Bolts. Tampa would still have a ton of work to do because their 92-point center Brayden Point is due for a hefty raise as well. I project Point will make an AAV of somewhere in the $8-9 million range, in the non-tax state of Florida. Tampa also has some other big RFAs due this summer and next, including Point and Paquette this summer, and Cirelli, Vasilevskiy, Sergachev, Cernak, and Joseph next summer. Even if Karlsson were to make an AAV of $6 million, an extreme discount for a player of his caliber, it would still be next to impossible to get him, re-sign Point this summer, and sign the plethora of very good RFAs next summer, one of which is a Vezina nominated goaltender. So how do the Rangers play into helping the Lightning acquire Karlsson?

In a recent post by our own Steven Voogel, he discussed the idea of the Rangers taking on a bad contract such as Patrick Marleau, and an asset such as Kasperi Kapanen attached to it to help Toronto clear some money to pay Mitch Marner.

I think that there can be something similar can be done here with Tampa to help them out in acquiring Karlsson. As we know, the Rangers and the Bolts have been trading allies for quite some time now. They clearly have a good relationship, and the Rangers are a perfect fit for this situation. The Rangers have an abundance of cap space (projected at just over $19 million as per CapFriendly), and can have even more room if they move some other pieces. If they were to help out Tampa, the Rangers would likely have to bring back former captain Ryan Callahan, who has one year left on his deal carrying an AAV of $5.8 million. Attached to Callahan could be Anthony Cirelli. Cirelli, who is only 21-years-old and has one more year left on his ELC before a solid pay-raise, is exactly the type of player the Rangers should target when making a move like this. Cirelli has 50 points in 100 career games, and had an excellent first full year in the league. In 2018-2019, Cirelli played in all 82 games, compiling 39 points; 19 of which were goals. Cirelli also represented Team Canada at the World Championships where he won a silver medal. In the tournament, Cirelli had four points (3G, A) in ten games.

With all of the big-name UFA buzz surrounding Panarin, Duchene, Karlsson, etc., I would rather see the Rangers go this route. I am not putting down the fact of signing a career point-per-game player in Panarin, but acquiring a guy like Cirelli for taking on a bad contract in Callahan for just one season may fit the Rangers timeline better.

Jeff Gorton and co. have put themselves in a fantastic spot heading into this off-season. They have compiled picks, re-stocked the prospect cabinet on defense, got the number two overall pick in the 2019 draft, and have cap flexibility. There are so many things that Rangers brass can do this summer, and I am really looking forward to it.

For years the New York Rangers have been in a situation where they had to trade players away either to generate cap space or because they didn’t have any (Hagelin in 2015 is an example of that); but now they are on the other side of the spectrum. With the rebuild in full swing and cap space not being an issue, a case can be made to use that cap space as an asset. Elliotte Friedman hinted at this in his 31 thoughts recently. But what does it mean and what can fans expect if Jeff Gorton decides to go this route?

On Wednesday night, the Carolina Hurricanes won game three in the second round of the NHL playoffs with two goals from Teuvo Teräväinen. The Finnish winger was drafted 18th overall in 2012 by the Chicago Blackhawks and came off a 35 point season in 2015-16 at the age of 21. The team had won three cups in the previous six years and in the summer of 2016 they had to made room for the eight-year contract of Brent Seabrook, which he signed the previous year. With a $6,875,000 cap hit, general manager Stan Bowman had to find a way to get rid of some bad contracts. One of them was Bryan Bickell who was on the books for $4,00,000 for one more year. They found a trade partner in the Carolina Hurricanes who were happy to take that contract off their hands but the price was steep. Teuvo Teräväinen was going with Bickell to Carolina in exchange for a 2016 second-round and a 2017 third-round pick in the upcoming drafts. This is the perfect example of a cap dump, and the Carolina Hurricanes are now reaping the rewards of that deal. Teräväinen hit 64 points last season and 76 this season with seven points in 10 playoff games so far, including five goals.

This is the blueprint Jeff Gorton needs to use this summer, and there are two potential trade partners who need to get rid of salary to make room for their elite players with RFA-status. What could a potential deal look like? Let’s examine both scenarios:

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay has some great players and were an absolute juggernaut in the NHL this regular season. But it comes at a price. Brayden Point is a restricted free agent and the 23-year old Canadian has not made it easy for the Lightning front office. With a 66 point season (32G, 34A) last year and a 92 point season (41G, 51A) this year, he will command a huge salary increase. But the team cannot afford it. At the moment, they have a little over $73 million tied up in 16 players (2 goalies, 4 defensemen and 10 forwards). That leaves them with $6.3m in cap space with an upper limit of $79,500,000. This will go up a bit, but not enough to create cap space for Point and the other positions they need to fill.

The cap dump for Tampa would be Ryan Callahan, who has a modified NTC (he can exclude 14 teams). The former Rangers captain has a $5,800,000 cap hit for one more year. A possible target for Gorton in this case is Anthony Cirelli, who is 21-years-old with one more year on his entry-level contract and coming off a 39-point season with the Lightning. The winger, who was drafted in 2015 in the third round, is also two years removed from being arbitration eligible which is good news for the Rangers for the negotiations of his next contract in the 2020 offseason.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The other prime candidate can be found North of the border. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a similar situation with a little over $74 million tied up in 17 players; but with Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson still unsigned. While Mitch Marner is the number one priority for Dubas to re-sign, the other two are young, cost-controlled forwards who scored 20 goals and hit 40+ points this past season. Kapanen, 22 years old, was acquired by Toronto in the trade that saw Phil Kessel move to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Andreas Johnsson was drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2013 in the seventh round. Looking at their cap situation, they only have one choice if they wish to retain William Nylander and that is to dump the contract of Patrick Marleau and give up one of Kapanen or Johnsson. The Teravainen-Bickell trade is again a good comparison, with a little added caveat I will get into a bit later, explaining how technically Toronto doesn’t have to lose Marleau. If Gorton steps in to take on the Marleau contract, which is $6,250,000 for one more year, with Kapanen coming to New York as the reward for relieving the Leafs from this contract, it gives the Rangers a young winger who can be added to the team’s young forward group. He would also be capable of making Kaapo Kakko feel at home in New York as a fellow Finn. Andreas Johnsson is the other option of course.

Now, the little caveat. If the Leafs commit to this cap dump, the Rangers can opt to buy out Patrick Marleau’s contract, making him an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with the Maple Leafs for a cheaper deal. There’s precedent. Last year, the Washington Capitals traded Brooks Orpik to the Colorado Avalanche together with Philip Grubauer. Orpik was bought out by the Denver-based team and then signed a new deal with the reigning Stanley Cup champions. With Marleau’s contract being a 35+ contract – he was at least 35 years old upon signing – there won’t be any cap relief, which means the $6,250,000 cap hit is on the books for the full season. Kapanen seems like a great asset to acquire as payment for this.