Brendan Smith said he had “a blast” being a Ranger for just over two months, and the 28-year-old defenseman, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent come July 1, made it clear he would like to return if the circumstances are right.
“Absolutely,” Smith said on breakup day Thursday in Tarrytown, when asked if he wanted to come back. “I really enjoyed being here. I like the guys, the group.”
Smith was obtained in a deal with the Red Wings just before the trade deadline that sent second- and third-round picks to Detroit. He joined a team with two of his former teammates from Wisconsin, Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh, which certainly helped. He then raised his game substantially in the heated atmosphere for the postseason, which ended with a second-round Game 6 loss to the Senators on Tuesday.
“Obviously I have some of my best buddies that were here to begin with, and they’re leaders on the team,” Smith said. “It was real fun to be a part of the New York Rangers, and they do it right. So it’s been a blast.”
The market would dictate a pretty hefty raise for Smith, coming off a two-year, $5.5 million deal that carried an annual salary-cap hit of $2.75 million. But this would be his first time as a free agent, so he said he was unsure of how the whole process was going to work out.
“There’s so many different variables, you try to figure out what’s the best for myself and for my family,” he said. “Kind of just go about it like that. It’s tough. It’s my first [chance] to do this, and I’m just going to see how things go.”
Rookie defenseman Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) and forward Kevin Hayes (Boston, Mass.) both left to join Team USA at the IIHF World Championships taking place in Paris and Cologne, Germany. They’ll join an American team that is 3-1 and in second place in the Group B preliminary round.
They also will face goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who is set to play for Team Sweden for the first time in nine years.
Chris Kreider had a spurt of energy and effectiveness in the third period of Game 6 against Ottawa, the type of burst that was too few and far between during the playoffs.
“You know, the Chris Kreider we saw in the third period of Game 6, boy, I would’ve liked to see him on a more regular basis,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “That’s part of the growth, part of the evolution as a player.”
One player from the Rangers roster is going to be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the June 21 expansion draft, and backup goalie Antti Raanta surely is on their radar. He has one more year left on his current deal with a modest cap hit of $1 million, and as long as he is on the Rangers, he will be Lundqvist’s backup.
“Of course every goalie in this business wants to be the No. 1 guy,” Raanta said. “That’s the dream, to one day be the No. 1 guy. So need to work hard in the summer and you never know what happens.”
Mika Zibanejad is set to be a restricted free agent, after the Rangers traded for him this past offseason. Vigneault said the 24-year-old center has “the tools and the capabilities to be a high-end centerman in this league,” but it’s not quite there yet.
“Mika’s case, he’s at that crossroads right now,” Vigneault said. “He needs to figure it out.”