We’re less than two months away — yes, it’s true! — from training camp for the Rangers, who are looking to build on last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Final. There’s a new second-line center on Broadway by the name of Vincent Trocheck. The kids — Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko (restricted free agent), K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider — are each a year older and three playoff rounds wiser. Vitali Kravtsov will get another shot at cracking the roster. Oh, and Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle are hungry to make the jump to the NHL.
The No. 1 remaining order of business is to sign Kakko. Let me start off by encouraging everyone to remain calm, which, judging by the amount of questions I’ve received on this topic, is easier said than done. From what I’ve gathered, neither side is in a rush to strike a deal. With the Rangers’ current cap situation, president and general manager Chris Drury may be looking at other options to create space or set the club up for future moves before he puts a final dollar figure on the table for Kakko. But conversations continue to be had. It all seems very amicable, and there is no indication that an offer sheet will derail Kakko’s tenure in New York, though it is known that the Rangers would be in trouble if the Finnish winger were to receive one.
The target deal appears to be a two-year contract at around $2 million to $2.5 million per. There’s an understanding that the team’s cap issues mean a three-year deal is not an option. For now, the Rangers have extended Kakko a qualifying offer worth $832,500. Kakko’s agent, Mike Liut, touched on the state of negotiations to me in a recent conversation in which he also spoke about Kakko getting scratched in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning.
The outlook isn’t so rosy when it comes to the prospect of re-signing center Tyler Motte. To echo Drury, it looks like too tight of a squeeze. Unless Motte is willing to take $1 million or less, the Rangers don’t have the cap space to accommodate the fiery fourth-liner. Ryan Reaves is on the books for one more year at $1.75 million. The Rangers also have Barclay Goodrow and his $3,641,667 cap hit over the next five seasons, as well as Sammy Blais’ new $1.525 million deal — Goodrow and Blais also are third-line options depending on how the roster shakes out. But the rest of the primary fourth-line options (Ryan Carpenter at $750,000, Dryden Hunt at $762,500, Gustav Rydahl at $750,000) — and other prospects — each come in under $1 million. That’s what works for the Rangers right now. Motte is certainly worth more than they can afford.
