There are many needs that need to be addressed on the roster that need to be filled, whether it be from within the organization or via free agency. The Rangers have roughly $21 million dollars in cap space to work with, and they should spend it wisely. Here is what I think they should do:
1. Sign Brooks Orpik (D): Orpik's stock has gone up due to a very stellar performance in the playoffs this past year. Keeping this in mind, Orpik recently rejected a contract offer worth over 3.5 million/year from Pittsburgh, and instead opted for free agency. Orpik is the no nonsense, tough as nails defenseman the Rangers lack. Signing him would make opposing forwards think twice about crashing the net or messing with King Henrik.
Expected deal: 4 years, 15 million
2. Sign Michael Ryder (RW): Ryder has practically been run out of Montreal due to his inconsistent play with the Habs. In tpart due to the media circus that exists north of the border, Ryder's stock is at an all time low. As a Ranger fan, I want to take a flyer on this guy. He has scored 30 goals more than once in his career, showing that he is a capable top 6 forward. Give him time to bounce back. Sather and co. will be very happy they pursued him if he turns it around, which I think he will.
Expected deal: 3 years, 8 million
3. Sign Markus Naslund (W): Perhaps my most controversial idea, Naslund is still an excellent goal scorer. Scoring 57 points on an anemic offensive team in Vancouver shows that he still has some gas left in the tank. Naslund has gone on record saying that he would accept a discounted deal in order to go to a contender. This team is ready to move on from Jagr, and as a result, Naslund will be a great short term solution to replace Jagr's point production. It also cannot hurt to have another Swede on the team to keep King Henrik happy. While I believe the Rangers are a great team, I have a hunch that he will go to a team within the Rangers' division that wears black and gold.
Expected deal: 1 year, 3 million
4. Re-sign Paul Mara (D): On HF (the hockey board I frequent), many people are writing Mara off along with the other free agents that are unlikely to return to New York. I am not one of those people. I believe that Mara is still a very effective defenseman at the NHL level. The guy scored 47 points only a couple years ago with the Phoenix Coyotes. He has an absolute cannon of a slap shot from the point, and with some good conditioning and luck, he can very well match that point total again. Mara also has the capability to exhibit a dangerous mean streak, as the playoffs this previous season are a good testament to that. I will be very sad to see Mara go if he signs elsewhere.
Expected deal: 3 years, 8.5 million
Total Cap Hit: Approximately 52 million
With Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanhan, Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival, Paul Mara, and Stephen Valiquette all possibly not returning to New York, the Rangers will certainly have many holes to fill, whether from within or by free agency. These signings I think will keep the Rangers contenders for the near future.
That is all I have to say about free agent signings, but then again, what I think should happen and what actually happens is very different. The mock draft that I wrote a couple weeks ago does nothing but prove this idea (wow, what a disaster that mock draft was). Based on my ideas, the Rangers will have roughly 5.5 million left under the cap after the deferred bonuses from the cap last year. Due to this, I expect Slats to pull the trigger on a trade this offseason that will bring another good player into town. What will actually happen, however, we will find out within the next couple days. My predictions for what headlines we may soon see:
Rangers re-sign Jaromir Jagr- 2 years, 12 million
Rangers sign Mats Sundin- 1 year, 5.5 million
Rangers sign Brooks Orpik- 5 years, 21 million
Rangers re-sign Paul Mara- 1 year, 2.5 million
Total Cap Hit: Approximately 55 million
I know my predictions will most likely be way off, but it can't hurt to speculate, right? We'll certainly see what happens in the coming days. I will share my thoughts on some of the Rangers prospects throughout the summer, as well as offer some perspective on what the Opening Night lineup in Prague will be once we know of all of the free agent signings. Even though I am scheduled to be at work tomorrow, I will have my laptop with me at all times, checking TSN for updates religiously. I will post all signings here as soon as I find out about them. Until tomorrow, cheers, and try to stay sane enough to get through the next couple of days!
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