Consecutive games against the teams directly in front of them in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Consecutive losses lowlighted by stunning breakdowns. One point gained when four were needed.

So much for big brother teaching their little siblings a thing or two at crunch time this weekend. The Senators and Blue Jackets flipped the script on the Rangers.

When push came to shove Saturday with a two-goal lead and 10 minutes to play, the Rangers stumbled badly. Ditto for Sunday, when two short-handed goals in 42 seconds on the same PK to tie the game 3-3 just preceded more stumbles and another wasted opportunity to grab ahold of the playoff race.

There are 18 games to play. This race is far from over, though now the two teams in front of the Rangers have games in hand. But the Rangers are right there. It’s just that this was a statement weekend.

And the statement the Rangers made was not an impressive one.

Subscribe to the RINK RAP podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

Here’s a list breakdown of the winners and losers from the Rangers loss Sunday to the Blue Jackets.

And here are three Rangers takeaways from the latest defeat, including a comparison between Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fantilli.

How did the Rangers react to the brutal loss Sunday? “This one sucks” was a massive understatement.

NHL news and rumors

Utah goalie Connor Ingram is seeking help from NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and stepped away from the team for an indefinite period citing issues coping with his mother’s death from breast cancer.

Jonathan Toews told The Athletic that he didn’t like how his career with the Chicago Blackhawks ended so is working toward an NHL return next season.

Pierre LeBrun reported that nine teams were in on Mikko Rantanen ahead of the trade deadline before he was dealt to the Dallas Stars by the Carolina Hurricanes. No, the Rangers were not one of those teams.

Despite seeking Mitch Marner’s permission to be included in a trade proposal to land Rantanen, the Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly are eager to sign the pending UFA to a new contract and keep him in Toronto.

Star forward Roope Hintz is day to day with an upper-body injury after taking a puck to the face over the weekend. He didn’t play against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Mikael Granlund scored for the Stars in their 4-1 win over the Canucks.

Cody Glass scored in his Devils debut, a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Newcomers Mark Jankowski and Logan Stankoevn combined for three goals to lead the Hurricanes past the Winnipeg Jets 4-2.

The Los Angeles Kings held on for a wild 6-5 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, who received a hat trick from Tomas Hertl.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette tries to tell you that it’s no bigger than other games his team had to win the past couple months to climb out of the hole they dug themselves to climb back in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

In a way, he’s right. The Rangers (31-26-6) must stockpile points against anyone and everyone. But games against your direct competitors for a playoff spot are extra important, and Laviolette and the Rangers know that. Even if the coach tries to downplay it. It’s not just another game.

Neither was the one they just played in Ottawa on Saturday against the Senators. You know, the one they led 2-0 early in the second period and 3-1 midway through the third. And lost 4-3 in overtime.

Lost points can come back to haunt you. But some are worse than others. This was one of them. Tied in the East with the upstart Senators, the Rangers couldn’t close this one out, and to be honest, largely didn’t meet the intensity of their hosts for most of the contest despite the pair of two-goal leads. You can thank Igor Shesterkin for giving the Rangers a chance to win. That is until even he couldn’t bring this one home. The relentless Senators scoring off a pair of scrambles to tie it.

And that K’Andre Miller own-zone turnover that led directly to Brady Tkachuk’s game-winning goal off a 2-on-1 at just 33 seconds of overtime? Egregious doesn’t even do it justice as a descriptive adjective. Appalling. Putrid. Horrendous.

Whatever, it was the final nail in the coffin, death by a thousand cuts, with one final dagger handed over by the Rangers defenseman.

Does Shesterkin share in the blame? Yes, for sure. The tying goals and then a clear look at Tkachuk’s shot that somehow went right between his pads.

But the Rangers were far from good enough Saturday, even if they almost snuck out of Canadian Tire Centre with two points.

So, here are the Blue Jackets coming to town Sunday. Another young upstart team ahead of the Rangers slightly in the standings. Some games are bigger than others. This is one of them. Again.

Subscribe to the RINK RAP podcast on the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

Here are three things to watch for when the Rangers host the Blue Jackets, including Artemi Panarin seeking goal in fifth straight game.

Breaking down the winners and losers from the Rangers’ brutal OT loss in Ottawa.

Here are our three Rangers takeaways from that latest tough to stomach loss, including no time to mope with Blue Jackets game awaiting. “We have to be ready,” Panarin said postgame.

The Rangers’ AHL affiliate got smoked Saturday. The Hartford Wolf Pack scored the game’s first goal and then allowed seven unanswered in a 7-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

NHL news and rumors

Holy Mitch Marner! Reports surfaced Saturday that the Toronto Maple Leafs approached their pending UFA forward about waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a trade before the deadline to the Carolina Hurricanes that would’ve brought Mikko Rantanen to Toronto. Marner refused, the Maple Leafs restructured their offer to the Carolina Hurricanes and, ultimate, Rantanen was traded to the Dallas Stars.

Marner went out and scored two goals Saturday but the Maple Leafs lost to the Colorado Avalanche 7-4. Valeri Nichushkin had a hat trick for Colorado.

Nathan MacKinnon became the first player to reach 100 points in the NHL this season when he scored two goals against the Maple Leafs. The Avalanche superstar has 27 goals and 73 points in 64 games.

Roope Hintz of the Stars went to the hospital after a deflected puck hit him in the face against the Edmonton Oilers and his status is unknown.

The Oilers edged the Stars 5-4 despite Rantanen scoring in his Dallas debut.

Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves and the Islanders defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2.

Before the game, Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello said “there will be change” this coming offseason with the Isles looking to build a younger talented core.

The Boston Bruins showed a heckuva lot of resolve, shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning the day after trading away captain Brad Marchand and two alternate captains, Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle, ahead of the deadline.

Speaking of shutouts, Dustin Wolf stopped all 26 shots and the Calgary Flames squeaked by the Montreal Canadiens 1-0.

Vitek Vanecek picked up a shutout in his Florida Panthers debut, 4-0 over the Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers have won six in a row.

Watch Steven Stamkos scores in overtime to put the final touches on his 14th career hat trick in a 3-2 Nashville Predators’ win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

After facing three lesser teams in the Eastern Conference coming out of the break — the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders — the Rangers play a true heavyweight in the League. The Maple Leafs (36-20-2) are second in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the first-place Florida Panthers, with two games in hand. They are third in the East and sixth overall in the NHL.

You may have heard that Toronto’s lineup includes Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. You may also have heard that the Rangers defense has been frightful at times this season, including in that terrible 8-2 loss to the Sabres last Saturday. And New York is now without its top defenseman Adam Fox, who’s on injured reserve after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Islanders in a 5-1 win Tuesday.

So, yeah, this isn’t the easiest start to a four-game homestand that leads right into the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline. But really nothing has come very easy for the Rangers (29-25-4) this season, which is why they’re tied for ninth in the conference, four points out of a wild-card spot.

It’s the second meeting between these Original Six teams this season. The Rangers skated out of Toronto back on Oct. 19 with a 4-1 victory, the third of a four-game winning streak. That stands as New York’s longest win streak this season. They come into Friday having won two in a row, but haven’t won more than that consecutively since they snagged three straight Nov. 14-19.

Counter that with the Maple Leafs. They’re currently on their ninth winning streak of at least three games this season, including a five-game run Dec. 31-Jan. 7.

Related: Zac Jones gets major opportunity to prove himself once again

3 things to watch for when Rangers host Maple Leafs

1. In flux

Not only is Fox out of the lineup Friday, but the Rangers could be without one or more of J.T. Miller, K’Andre Miller and Chris Kreider against the Maple Leafs. Each of those Rangers regulars took part in an optional morning skate, but coach Peter Laviolette said the two forwards and one defenseman are game-time decisions.

J.T. Miller missed practice Thursday with an illness. Since he’s the engine that makes the Rangers go, it can’t be underestimated how much he’d be missed if unable to play. The other Miller, K’Andre sustained a lower-body injury Tuesday against the Islanders, but practiced Thursday and is expected to play. That would be huge because he and Will Borgen will be needed to play heavy minutes with Fox sidelined.

Kreider didn’t play the past two games with an upper-body issue. The 33-year-old has dealt with back problems all season and missed 10 games (one as a healthy scratch). He practiced Thursday.

2. Zac’s back

We haven’t seen a lot of Zac Jones the past two months, though we heard from him in January when he popped off about being a healthy scratch night-in and night-out after losing his third-pair slot to Urho Vaakanainen. With Fox out, Jones returns to the lineup Friday. He’ll pair with Braden Schneider and is slated to quarterback the second power-play unit.

The Rangers need a defenseman to replicate some of Fox’s offensive attributes, like funneling pucks to the net, make quick, smart passes to create scoring chances and start rushes up ice, and to skate the puck out of trouble when needed. That fits Jones’ skill set, though he’s no Fox, of course.

Laviolette doesn’t seem to trust Jones — hence he’s only played 28 games this season — but has little choice right now. It’s up to Jones to prove his worth.

3. Taking off in walk year

Mitchell Marner is going to be a very wealthy man. In fact, he already is very wealthy; he makes $10.9 million annually on his expiring contract. But everything is pointing toward the pending UFA being able to really break the bank this summer, whether it’s by remaining with the Maple Leafs or signing with another team on the open market (the Rangers do have some salary cap space — just sayin’).

The stars are aligning for the 27-year-old forward. The NHL salary cap is going up considerably, not only next season but those after, so teams will have more money to spend. And Marner is flying high in his prime; he’s third in the NHL with 55 assists and tied for fifth with 73 points in 57 games. He’s on the way to his first 100-point season, and already has a pair of 90-point campaigns (99 and 97 points) on his resume.

Oh, and he earned his big-game bones by assisting on Connor McDavid’s tournament-winning goal in overtime to help Canada defeat the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.

He also comes into the Garden after a two-goal outing against the Boston Bruins on Monday.

All eyes will be on Marner at the Garden on Friday night.

Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Cuylle – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad

Vesey – Carrick – Smith

Othmann – Brodzinski – Rempe

K. Miller – Borgen

Lindgren – Vaakanainen

Jones – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

Rangers vs. Maple Leafs: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

When: Friday Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

The New York Rangers center was robbed by goaltender Jordan Binnington 1:55 into the extra period on a one-timer from the left circle that would have given Sweden a come-from-behind victory. Marner then scored at 6:06 of OT to give Canada a 4-3 win in the tournament opener, spoiling Sweden’s comeback from a pair of two-goal deficits.

“We did a good job working ourselves back into the game,” Zibanejad said. “Overtime could have gone both ways.”

Sidney Crosby, the game’s First Star, got his third primary assist of the night when he fed Marner, who raced into the offensive zone and ripped a high shot from the right of the slot through an inadvertent screen by Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson that beat Filip Gustavsson for the win.

“He’s amazing. He’s just ageless. It’s a credit to him,” Connor McDavid said of Crosby. “It’s a credit to how much he puts into it his work ethic, credit to how he takes care of himself and credit to how smart he is out there. He just gets it done time and time again, and he did that again tonight.”

Canada has won 26 consecutive games in international competition with Crosby in the lineup.

AN ABSOLUTE ELECTRIC #4Nations OPENER! 🙌

Mitch Marner scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for Canada. pic.twitter.com/PTTYLar7BV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025

Scoring the overtime winner on an assist from his boyhood idol was special for Marner.

“You tell 13-year-old Mitch that he scored an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, the guy he looked up to since day one, it’s pretty crazy,” he said. “I really just tried to enjoy the moment after. The building was rocking, and it was nice to have them cheering for me instead of against me.”

Crosby also set up goals by Nathan MacKinnon in the first period and Mark Stone in the second. Brad Marchand, who fueled Canada’s World Cup win nine years ago with a tournament-leading five goals, scored the other goal.

“As someone who loves to play in environments like that, I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, and to have an ovation like that here was really special and something I’ll always remember,” Crosby said.

Binnington made 23 saves, allowing goals by Jonas Brodin in the second period and Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek in the third. Gustavsson finished with 24 saves, including seven in overtime.

Canada lost defenseman Shea Theodore early in the second period with an upper-body injury, and coach Jon Cooper said after the game that Theodore will miss the rest of the tournament, which ends Feb. 20.

Zibanejad finished the game minus-1 and had two shots on goal in 20:01 of ice time. He had one takeaway and was 12-10 on face-offs — no other Swedish center was over .500 on draws.

“I think toward the end of the first (period) and from then on, we started playing a little bit more,” Zibanejad said. “We could have won this game.”

Having to go into the 10-minute overtime before winning means Canada got two points for the victory, instead of three. Sweden got one point.

Each team will have two days off before playing its biggest rival. Sweden faces Finland on Saturday afternoon, while Canada and the United States square off Saturday night. The Americans, featuring four Rangers — defenseman Adam Fox and forwards J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck — play Finland in their first game Thursday night.

Related: Former Rangers captain believes Jacob Trouba was ‘spiritual leader’ before trade to Ducks

Canada 4 – Sweden 3 (OT)

Zibanejad was in the starting lineup, centering a line with Rickard Rakell and William Nylander, and won the opening face-off. But he had already gone off for a line change when Nylander was called for high-sticking MacKinnon 44 seconds into the game.

That brought out Canada’s No. 1 power-play unit, which needed just 12 seconds to open the scoring. McDavid fed Crosby at the goal line to the left of Gustavsson, and Crosby’s backhand pass across the top of the crease found MacKinnon. The NHL leading scorer wasted no time snapping it into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“We get a penalty on the first shift and they score, what, 15 seconds into the power play,” Zibanejad said. “The building gets going and they get a second goal.”

The Canadians dominated play and had not allowed a shot on goal before Marchand scored at 13:15 to make it 2-0.

Seth Jarvis’ pass sprung Brayden Point and Marchand on a 2-on-1 break. Point found a wide-open Marchand in the lower left circle, and he hit the half-empty net for a 2-0 lead.

Brad Marchand in Montreal! 🇨🇦

Canada leads 2-0! #4Nations

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/1OeWbNgQN7

— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025

Marchand admitted during a between-periods interview with TNT that “I heard a few boos” amid the cheers after the goal but added that “It’s incredible the way the fans rally behind Canada.” The Boston Bruins captain has heard his share of boos at Bell Centre over the years, playing for one of the Montreal Canadiens’ biggest rivals.

Canada had the first seven shots of the game before the Swedes finally got their first shot at 13:49 when Nylander got off a backhander that Binnington had no trouble with. They had the final three shots on goal in the period, none of which was dangerous.

“We had an awesome start,” Stone told TNT.

The Swedes finally began to find their game as the second period neared the midway point and cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:33.

Jonas Brodin scored Sweden’s opening goal while making his debut at an NHL International Tournament. #4Nations

Tune in on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, truTV, @Sportsnet and @TVASports. #NHLStats: https://t.co/fAVu10HCM6 pic.twitter.com/129wkho3Tu

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) February 13, 2025

Brodin, who has four goals in 34 games for the Minnesota Wild this season and only recently returned to the lineup after missing four weeks with a lower-body injury, let go a bad-angled shot from near the right boards. With Rakell screening Binnington, the shot went over the goaltender’s shoulder and just under the crossbar.

Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin saved a goal 3 1/2 minutes later by beating MacKinnon to a loose puck in the crease after a chop shot by Crosby leaked through Gustavsson.

But Crosby got his second assist of the night when he did most of the work on Stone’s goal at 17:28. With Zibanejad on the ice and Sweden pressing for the tying goal, Crosby picked up a miss by Mattias Ekholm and raced up the right wing. He muscled away defenseman Gustav Forsling in the lower right circle long enough to find Stone, who was flying down the middle and one-timed No. 87’s pass behind Gustavsson for a 3-1 lead.

He's just so good at protecting the puck 😳 #4Nations https://t.co/Ie6mX8CBpm pic.twitter.com/cjL6u4Iiy7

— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025

Sweden got back within a goal 1:54 into the third period when Kempe backed off his Los Angeles Kings teammate, defenseman Drew Doughty, and created enough room to snap a shot past Binnington from between the circles.

Eriksson Ek got the Swedes even at 8:59, finishing a nice passing play with Lucas Raymond and Jesper Bratt, who faked a shot and fed the Minnesota center for a flip shot over Binnington and a 3-3 tie.

JOEL ERIKSSON EK TIES THE GAME FOR SWEDEN! 👀 #4Nations 

Catch all the action on Sportsnet! 📺 pic.twitter.com/56Nre5MnDY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025

Gustavsson saved the day for Sweden with just under nine minutes remaining when he got his blocker on a shot from the slot by Devon Toews, who was alone in the slot and appeared to have a half-empty net to shoot at.

Toronto has a problem, it isn’t a bad one, it’s more a matter of circumstance and a little self-inflicted pain. After being bad for several years the Leafs were able to draft some gems in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Then they went out and bought UFA John Tavares. That may not have been needed in hindsight, but this is where they are.

Toronto Maple Leafs top heavy salary cap

Matthews makes $11.6 million, followed by Tavares at $11m, then Marner with $10.89m, and finally Nylander at $6.9m against the cap. That’s a lot of moolah.

When you calculate what all four of those players make, it totals $40.4 million. That equates to 49.6% of Toronto’s total cap space to just four players. Albeit superstars, it doesn’t leave much to spread around to the 19 remaining roster spots you need to win a Stanley Cup.

That’s why the Leafs are trying to figure out how to get cap compliant and ensure they have a winning mix for the post-season. It isn’t an easy job for GM Kyle Dubas who is likely on the hot seat.

The New York Rangers are now following a similar path

The New York Rangers are eventually going to find themselves in a similar situation as the Leafs. They went out last summer and landed the top UFA on the market in Artemi Panarin to the tune of $11.6 million.

Mika Zibanejad will be a UFA in two seasons at the age of 29 and he is very likely to get $10-11 million himself for the next 7 years. Panarin’s deal will expire in year five of Mika’s. That will be approximately $22 million on two forwards.

Enter Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. The #1 pick of the 2020 draft and the #2 pick of the 2019 draft have future stars written all over them. In three seasons Lafreniere’s ELC will expire and Kakko’s will expire in just two. If Alexis is the next generational talent, he could very well command $10 million on his next deal. Kakko would like be similar to Nylander’s $7 million.

And just like that, we are the Toronto Maple Leafs with almost half the cap dedicated to four forwards. Remember this is a good problem to have.

Rangers need to plan for this eventual outcome

The first thing many of you will say is, “just keep bridge dealing Lafreniere and Kakko until Panarin comes off the books!” Yes, that is one approach but you normally don’t low ball your future franchise players. Did Edmonton do that with Connor McDavid? Or Toronto with Matthews? The answer is no. You take care of them immediately.

If Lafreniere is flirting with 80 points by year three, you give him a 10 year deal at around $10 million and call it a day. If Kakko is scoring 30-40 goals when his ELC is set to expire you give him $7-8 million for 8 years and just enjoy the fireworks. You don’t play games with them.

That’s why it is imperative the Rangers be shrewd at every position. Other players like Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller could be the next top defenseman at around $8-9 million. That’s why it was imperative to draft the likes of Matthew Robertson, Braden Schneider, and Zac Jones. They need to keep the pipeline with a decent amount of prospects for longterm success.

It’s another reason why the Rangers were adamant about keeping two top tier goalies in Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev. Long gone are the days where the Blueshirts are going to invest 10-15% of the their cap space on one goalie.

The Rangers are just getting started and need to make sure they can balance a lineup for playoff success. They would love to at one point have four forwards of the same caliber as the Leafs and even pay them over $40,000,000 for it.

They just need to make sure every move they make accounts for it.

The latest news and rumors around the league and Blueshirts.

Dreger On Sirius XM

Insider Darren Dreger was on Sirius XM NHL Radio today and stated that the Rangers are heavily going after Jacob Trouba and that he believes that Artemi Panarin will be a New York Ranger next season.

We’ve been covering Trouba for days now so it isn’t surprising to hear Dreger say that. However, it is pretty noteworthy that he feels the Rangers and not the Panthers will wind up landing Panarin in free agency.

Oddly enough, that “all-in” vibe that so many insiders and beat writers are feeling isn’t lining up with what I’m getting from the Rangers. Of course, they are playing things as they always do, calm and close to the vest.

We will find out just how interested the Rangers are in Panarin on June 23rd after the draft and the window to talk with free agents opens.

Rangers were never really in on Karlsson

Karlsson was linked to the Rangers as a possible free agent destination by many insiders just a few weeks ago. However, the 29 year old free agent was never really someone the Rangers were targeting. After the deal was signed with SJ, it was confirmed to me that getting into a bidding war for his services wasn’t a game they were going to play. As mentioned before, when it comes to defense the top priority is trading for Trouba.

Pierre McGuire on TSN Montreal

Pierre McGuire claims the Rangers were upset they didn’t land Karlsson and make a bid on a significant RFA. He states they have a ton of cap space and they will be somehow getting rid of Shattenkirk and Smith to go after a guy like Mitch Marner.

Based on what I’ve learned, the Rangers weren’t upset or really interested in Karlsson as I mentioned above. Does that negate the rest of Pierre’s sentiments here? Not sure because even Rick Carpiniello believes the Rangers are going to offer sheet Brayden Point.

Here’s the bottom line, I don’t think you can trade for Trouba, sign Artemi Panarin as Dreger suggests AND THEN make an offer sheet to an RFA. So someone has to be wrong, and I’m not betting against Dreger.

Cap Going Down Next Season?

Rangers Draft Prep

Rangers released a pretty cool video about the prepping for the draft and some of the inner workings. Cool story about Libor Hayek in there as well. Turns out that Hayek, Brett Howden, and Brendan Lemieux were all players they interviewed and wanted to draft but acquired eventually through trade.

The Toronto Maple Leafs went all in this past year, as they should have. They finally negotiated a deal with William Nylander mid-way through the season, signed former Islander captain John Tavares to a 7-year, $77 million ($11 million AAV) deal, acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from Los Angeles, and had two of the best young forwards in the game in Matthews and Marner. Unfortunately for them, they fell short, and general manager Kyle Dubas is staring down what seems to be an extremely difficult summer for his club.

After signing former first overall pick Auston Matthews to a 5-year deal that kicks in in 2019-2020 carrying an AAV of $11.634 million, Toronto is projected to have just below $9 million in cap space as per CapFriendly. Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey are all but gone, so there are some questions that will have to be answered on their blue line. The biggest issue for the Leafs is getting RFA forwards Kasperi Kapanen, and more importantly Mitch Marner, under contract. What lies ahead for Dubas and co. when it comes to these two?

Kapanen is an interesting case, but not as interesting as Marner. The 22-year-old Marner has established himself as one of the premiere wingers in the sport compiling 94 points in the 2018-2019 season. Recent reports elude to Marner wanting something in the $10-11.5 million AAV range. That number would make him the highest paid winger in the league over Nikita Kucherov ($9.5 million AAV) who had 128 points this past season for the Lightning. Below is a ~15 minute interview with Darren Dreger discussing what lies ahead for the Leafs and Marner.

If you listened, you will know what was said, but to summarize, Dreger said that Marner’s camp and the Leafs have not yet started talking numbers, and he feels this is going to be a very tough situation moving forward. More importantly he talks about how he expects Marner to visit teams that may offersheet him when he is allowed to on June 26th. The tweet below talks about important dates for Marner moving forward, and what Dreger feels needs to be an “aggressive offer” from the Leafs to keep the 22-year-old Marner around.

I think it will be interesting to see what teams Marner decides to visit, and which teams will offersheet him if it gets to that point. As per Elliote Friedman and The Athletic’s Rick Carpinello, the Rangers may be a team active in the offersheet market, but as I wrote in a previous post, for Brayden Point. I don’t know if the Rangers would be a team that offersheets Marner, but then again you never know.

If I had to bet a team that might do it, I would say our rivals from Long Island….or Brooklyn, would do the deed. Lou would certainly be inclined to get after his former team by either driving up the price on Marner for Toronto, or getting the star winger for his current club.

I’m back from a week long business trip and so it the latest Rangers roundup. There was a lot of info out there and it’s time to lay it out and assess it. Let’s go!

Malkin On the Move?

Not too long ago I mentioned that even though Evgeni Malkin was said to be an “untouchable” by a Penguins beat writer, that it may not be true. This past week Elliotte Friedman said as much.

Malkin has a no-move clause, yet the buzz is that he’s taking some time to decompress and think about a.) if he’d agree and b.) where he’d agree to go to. That would be a short list, maybe the Rangers and Florida? The bigger hurdle might be Mario Lemieux, with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reporting sources have told him Lemieux is against the idea. For the Penguins to consider this, the return must be good enough to keep them in contention now.

31 Thoughts

Malkin is 32, has an AAV of $9.5M until 2022 when he will be 35 years old. On the positive side, he is still one of the most dominant centers in hockey and scored 72 points in 68 games this season. The year prior he potted 42 goals and 98 points in 78 games. 

The Rangers only have 1 bonafide center heading into next season. Currently it looks like youngster, Filip Chytil would be forced into a #2 role. Gorton will need to figure this out since Kravtsov is a winger and Kakko is also.

While Malkin is not likely to happen, if the Rangers can’t address this issue past free agency, it could be an option.

Offer Sheets Option?

Once again, the topic of offer sheets this summer is coming up. The Rangers may delve into this area, but in truth these are so rare in the NHL. Still, there is quite a field of RFA’s available that make it worth it.

Mitch Marner is one, but he is a winger which the New York will have in abundance with Kravtsov and Kakko next season. So this brings me to Brayden Point of the Lightning.

Point is 23 years old, a little on the small side, but he notched 41 goals and 92 points in 79 games. Here’s the deal, the Rangers or any other team could make a big offer sheet and Tampa has enough cap space and wiggle room via trades or buyout to field a good team next season.

One last thought, Toronto is rumored to be looking to trade William Nylander who can play center as well as wing. If he indeed becomes available via trade, the Rangers should there before considering a player like Malkin.

Fox and the Russians are on the way

Adam Fox has vaulted from college into the Rangers top 4 via a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox will compete and land a job on New York’s blue-line next season and could actually wind up on the top pair. Widely considered one of the best defensive prospects in the world, he is expected to be almost as good as Cale Makar, who has already made a big impact with the Avalanche.

The Rangers then topped that great move with the official signings of Vitali Kravtsov and Igor Shesterkin. After a long and difficult season, next year is already looking to be so much better and Jeff Gorton is still not done finalizing this roster.

If the Rangers add a star forward like Artemi Panarin in free agency, there’s a chance they could catch lightning in a bottle and have a fun run in the playoffs too.

More Good News

And Dallas is one more win away from giving the Rangers another first round pick this summer.

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The William Nylander saga that occurred for nearly half the season in Toronto really started making people scratch their heads about a lot of things in regards to RFAs, and on a different note, the Toronto Maple Leafs salary cap. When a player is an RFA, his rights are to the team that he is on. It varies when a player’s RFA status is up. As we saw with Nylander, nobody was allowed to touch him, being that his contract rights were with Toronto. The saga finally ended when he got the big bucks and joined the high-powered Leafs.

What was interesting was that people were constantly talking about other teams offer-sheeting Nylander to either jack up the price, or get a young star added to your team. But, as the “old boy’s club” goes, no offer-sheet was put in for the young Swedish star. It will be interesting, however, to see how things go in the coming months with Toronto’s two best players Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who will become RFA’s come July 1 when each of their entry-level contracts is completed. Matthews, the American phenom, will, in my belief, get a contract within the next month, a contract that will make him the highest paid player in NHL history, because I do think that GM Kyle Dubas fears a possible offer-sheet. That leaves the young Canadian star Mitch Marner. Marner has already said he does not want to discuss a new contract until after the season, so let’s take a look at what could go down.

In a recent report, GMs apparently told Dubas they would be offer-sheeting players, in particular, Marner, if he got to July 1 without a contract. So the question looms: should Jeff Gorton offer-sheet Marner if he isn’t signed before the July 1 deadline?

Before I dive into this, I want it to be known that Mitch Marner is my favorite player in the NHL, and believe he is the best player on that Maple Leafs team. With that being said, what would happen if the Rangers offer-sheeted Marner? In the event of an offer-sheet, a team can put in an offer to an RFA, and the team that holds the player’s contract rights has a chance to match it. If the player’s current team matches it, he’d stay with his current team, but if they don’t match it, he walks, and for a heavy price.

If the Rangers were to offer-sheet Marner, it would have to be for the eight-year max. That contract would carry an AAV of, what I presume, to be somewhere in the $11M range. So, let’s just say the Rangers offer-sheeted Marner an eight-year deal for $88M. Marner would no doubt bring an element to this team that hasn’t been seen before. He is a dynamic player with a tremendous amount of skill and is on pace for over 110 points this season. Not to mention he is only 21-years-old. Marner would anchor this rebuild and be the best player on it for the next decade or more, but at what cost?

The chances of Marner and the Maple Leafs hitting the aforementioned July 1 deadline without a deal in place is about as likely as an apple tasting like an orange. But, should things shake out differently, the Rangers should go after the young phenom.

Editor’s Note: The max years the Rangers can offer an RFA is 7 years. The author was incorrect to state 8 and the assistant Editor missed it too. I am sorry for that. On another note, the “heavy price” includes the 1st round picks. – Anthony

Tomorrow, the Rangers will come out of the Christmas break and they find themselves in a very tough spot. They are 2-3-4 in their last 9 games, compiling 8 out of a possible 18 points. They currently find themselves just 5 points from the cellar of the league and 7 points from the last wild card spot. The Blueshirts have had a tough stretch of games, including games against juggernauts in the forms of Winnipeg, Tampa, and Toronto.

Showing Heart

Even though they played with the heart, that was not enough to win any of those three games, as they picked up just one point out of a possible six in the game against Winnipeg (a game they had no business being in). These offensively drunken teams were too much for Quinn’s Rangers to handle for a full 60 minutes.

After a 1-1 game after two periods against the high-powered Leafs, the Rangers had some life. It was in the last 20 minutes that the 77 million dollar Tavares, and 21-year-old superstar Mitch Marner, showed the world exactly why they are a top-notch contender, and the Rangers are far from it. So what do the Rangers need to do to get to that level?

Following Toronto’s Plan

The Rangers need to look no further than the opponent they played on Saturday night as a model for what they have to do to compete. The Leafs are one of four contenders (in my opinion) for Lord Stanley’s Cup, and that is because of the consistent bottoming out they have done over the last handful of years. The Leafs built this team by drafting top-notch talent at the top of the draft.

Dating back to the 2012 draft up until the 2016 draft (5 drafts), the Maple Leafs held the 5^th, 21^st, 8^th, 4^th, and 1^st pick respectively in those drafts. With the 5^th pick in 2012 they took Morgan Reilly who currently leads all NHL defensemen in points. With the 8^th pick in 2014, they took William Nylander, who in the previous two years had back-to-back 61 points seasons. With the 4^th pick in 2015, they took Mitch Marner, who is on pace for 111 points and has a very good shot at winning the Art Ross Trophy for most points, this season. And finally, with the 1^st pick in the 2016, they took American superstar Auston Matthews, who will be an 80+ point player every year for the next decade, and will become the highest paid player in NHL history sometime in the next 6-7 months.

To cap off these fantastic draft picks, Kyle Dubas went out and signed the most prized free agent to hit the market in the last decade, John Tavares. This is the model the Rangers need to use if they are going to compete in the next couple of years. Now, let me be clear, I am not saying you have to pick first or second overall EVERY YEAR, but as mentioned in a previous post, I do believe you have to at least once, like the Leafs did. Let’s take a look at what the Rangers can do to parallel these moves the Leafs made.

What the Rangers have done so far

In the 2017 draft, the Rangers drafted Filip Chytil 21^st overall. Chytil is having a promising rookie season, and is growing with each game. I do believe that Chytil is a bonaifde top-six player and will be for the next decade plus. I also am confident that in two years, Chytil will be a 60-point player, so I will consider him the “Nylander” of this Rangers team even though he was not taken in the top 10.

Many feel that if Chytil missed the cut-off for the 2017 draft, the Montreal Canadians would have taken him 3^rd overall in the 2018 draft. Also, many re-drafts have Chytil going in the top 10 of the 2017 draft. Nylander is without a doubt the better player, but I do think that Chytil can be a significant role player in the top-six for this Rangers team for a very long time. In the 2018 draft, the Rangers took two major swings on Russian forward Vitaly Kravstov with the 9^th overall pick, and American defenseman K’Andre Miller with the 22^nd overall pick.

It is too early to say that these two are going to be all-star caliber players year in and year out, but it’s looking very promising right now.  First up is Kravstov, who I believe is going to be an excellent top-six forward that has 25-30 goal-a-year potential. Kravstov is not the “Mitch Marner” of the Rangers, in that Mitch Marner is one of the best players in the entire game, but he will certainly be an integral piece of the Rangers puzzle. He is having a phenomenal D+1 season in the KHL and is going to be playing on the top-line for Russia at the WJC tournament this week. 

Next up is Miller, who is looking like the steal of the first round. He is a tremendous skater, with extreme upside as an 18 year old. Miller will likely be on the top-pair alongside Vancouver Canucks drafts pick, Quinn Hughes for team USA at the WJC. I am hopeful that Miller will be the next Brian Leetch for this team because of the ineptitude of this current blue-line. Miller can be the “Morgan Reilly” of the Rangers, even though he was not taken in the top 5 of the draft. In many re-drafts, Miller is going in the top-10, and will likely be a top 5 defensive prospect in the NHL next season while at Wisconsin.

What the Rangers should do next

So according to my model, the Rangers have their “Nylander” (kind of) and “Reilly” of the future, as well as a number of integral pieces in Zib, Chytil, Lias, Kravstov, Buch, and Skjei. This means the Rangers are lacking a Marner, Matthews, and Tavares……so where can they find them?

The Rangers, as mentioned before, are only 5 points from the bottom of the league and the best odds to land the top pick. If the Rangers do land a top two pick, they will be able to draft Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko. Both of them, while they are not the same level of Matthews, are the elite, top of the draft type players the Rangers need.

So, if the Blueshirts do draft one of the two, they will be the “Matthews” of this Rangers club. Next up is the “Tavares” of the Rangers; a 26-27 year old star that can be bought via free agency. Many think that this will be the easiest get for the Rangers during this rebuild in the form of Russian star, Artemi Panarin. Panarin will likely hit the open market on July 1, 2019, and many writers, including Elliot Freidman, have their money on the Rangers landing him.

Panarin is a guy the Rangers have lacked since the days of Jagr in that he is an 80+ point player year in and year out. Panarin is the “Tavares” of this Rangers team. Last but not least is who will be the “Marner” of this Rangers club? It is very hard for me to find someone that can fit this build because Marner, in my opinion, is the best player on the Leafs, and a top 5 player in all of hockey.

If I had to pick someone who CAN fit this build, it would be Kravstov. They are both players that were picked in the top 10 (Marner 4, Kravstov 9), play on the wing, and had phenomenal D+1 years. This is an extremely big stretch for the reasons mentioned before, but if I HAD to pick one player to fill the “Marner” role for the Rangers, Kravtsov is it.

Do you have any better ideas? Sound off in the comments section below.