NHL 2022 Offseason Guide: The New York Rangers
After a heartbreaking loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Rangers will be looking to get back to the dance very soon. The pieces are there but some decisions will have to be made with Kaapo Kakko who has been underwhelming since his draft in 2019. Is it too soon to call him a bust? Maybe. It would also benefit the franchise by picking a captain with Chris Kreider leading the pack given the way he handled post-match interviews during the playoffs.
The Roster
The Rangers aren’t going to look much different next season. Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, and Jacob Trouba will all be back in front of Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. That’s your top four taken care of. Unfortunately, after that, it takes a huge dip in talent to your bottom pairing of Braden Schneider and Patrik Nemeth. Schneider is still young and learning his craft but pairing him with Nemeth is not helping. The pairings CF% was 41.63 but away from Nemeth, Schneider’s raised to 46.46 while Nemeth’s shot down to 29.25.
The same goes up front with the tandem of Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad returning along with Artemi Panarin. That first line served the Rangers well last season alongside the likes of Alexis Lafrenière, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil which took third-line minutes for the most part. It will be interesting to see if those two lines remain together given some of the maneuverings that will need to be done this offseason. Or will the returning Vitali Kravtsov break up the trio that became fondly known as the kid line during the Rangers’ playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final?
Team Needs
It has been rumored that goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has requested to be traded which could open a need for a capable backup to Shesterkin. It makes sense for Georgiev who saw his hopes of being the starter in New York all but killed by a stellar season from his fellow countryman. The 26-year-old is an RFA this summer and the Rangers may see it more beneficial to cash in now given his decent playoff numbers when he stepped in for Igor. The regular season wasn’t as good, but GMs have short memories.
As for a replacement, there are several options in Free Agency without overpaying. Braden Holtby had decent numbers in Dallas when healthy and would come in under $2 million, while Martin Jones has been around the league and would be cost-efficient given the Sharks are still paying him $1.6 million for the next five seasons. Both also have Stanley Cup wins which are always important to have around the room.
Cap Situation
Despite being healthy and scratched for the deciding playoff game against the Tampa Bay Lightning RFA Kaapo Kakko should be the first name on the list to re-sign. With only $10.2 million in space though it’s not that simple. Forward Ryan Strome hit over 50 points for the second time in three years and chances of him re-signing at $4.5million AAV or lower look unlikely. Kakko in comparison put up 18 points. While it’s not the end of the road for the former second overall pick, the Rangers might be looking to strike while the iron is hot.
As for Andrew Copp, he was always seen as a rental when picked up from the Winnipeg Jets. Other UFA’s like Frank Vatrano, Tyler Motte, and Justin Braun could be brought back at reasonable prices, but does that then leave Kakko as expendable?
The Draft
No first-round pick for the New York Rangers this year as it was given up in the Copp deal. They are also without a third-round and seventh-round pick, while they don’t have their fourth-round pick, but do have Winnipeg’s via the Brett Howden deal in 2021 with the Vegas Golden Knights. All this means you won’t see Rangers GM, Chris Drury, until the 63rd pick on day two.
Prior drafts tell us that the Rangers are very hit and miss outside the first round although considering their greatest ever goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and current Vezina winner Shesterkin were both picked after the #100 mark and with Georgiev possibly moving on there’s a big possibility Nick Malik is on their board somewhere. The goaltender already has 34 games under his belt against men in the Finnish Liiga and if the name sounds familiar his dad is former Ranger Marek Malik.
Conclusion
There’s no reason the New York Rangers can’t be back in the postseason next year, especially if Igor Shesterkin can repeat his Vezina-caliber season. Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller will be one year wiser with playoff experience as will the kids’ line should they all be there.
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