It seems the mania that was anticipated in the lead-up to the NHL expansion draft is not exactly affecting the Rangers.
Things remained quiet on that front as the Rangers approached Saturday’s 5 p.m. deadline to submit their list of protected players. It seems like their seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie are set, and all the requirements needed for players to expose have been met.
No trade with Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is in place to save one of their exposed players, nor is any trade imminent for one of those exposed players, notably goalie Antti Raatna.
The only question now seems to be who McPhee is going to pick when the draft comes Wednesday, and how the Rangers are going to deal with it.
The seven protected forwards have been clear for a while: Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and Mika Zibanejad. Only Zibanejad currently is unsigned, and it seems that general manager Jeff Gorton might be looking toward more than a bridge deal with the 24-year-old center. That leaves the three most enticing exposed forwards as Michael Grabner, Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast.
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Grabner, 29, is signed for next season with a salary-cap hit of $1.65 million, modest compared to his first Rangers season, when he started fast and finished with 27 goals. Lindberg and Fast, both 25-year-old Swedes, are restricted free agents and hold arbitration rights. Fast just underwent hip surgery and likely won’t be ready until November. They both knew they held some leverage in negotiations until Matt Puempel signed a one-year, $725,000 deal Wednesday, meaning the club met the minimum of two exposed forwards with a certain games-played requirement signed for next season.
Now their contract talks are back to square one, and one of them might start with McPhee. Lindberg is the more viable option for a top-six role at center, while Fast is the more reliable two-way forward.
The situation on defense was made far more clear when Gorton decided to buy out the three years remaining on veteran defenseman Dan Giradi’s contract, making the three protected defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Nick Holden. That leaves Kevin Klein as the single necessary blueliner exposed, even as the 32-year-old with a $2.9 million cap hit for next year contemplates retirement.
With Henrik Lundqvist as the lone protected goalie, Raanta is exposed coming off a terrific season in which he made a convincing case to be a possible No. 1. The 28-year-old jovial Finn is signed for next season with a $1 million cap hit, and it seems with all the goalies out there available to McPhee, the Rangers are just hoping he doesn’t go for Raanta.
If so, the Blueshirts will deal with it. Just like they will deal with it if McPhee takes Grabner or Lindberg or Fast. Instead of overreacting, they are playing it cool — and they hope it pays off.