2022-23 NHL Predictions

Seeing as how I was so "great" with my predictions last year - I actually had the Islanders over the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup finals and neither team qualified for the postseason - I thought I'd give it another whirl. As always, take them with a rather large grain of salt.

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:

Florida Panthers: They gave up their leading scorer and second best defenseman to land Matthew Tkachuk. That should tell you how desperate they were to get rid of the stench of last year's sweep at the hands of the Lightning. Time will tell if it was worth it.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Both Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat were cap casualties and will be sorely missed. But there's still more than enough talent on this roster, and so long as they have Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, they have to be taken seriously as a Cup contender.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Everyone has jumped on their bandwagon this season, which is odd given that they didn't address their lack of depth during the offseason and they're relying on a goaltender whose best years are half a decade behind him. Auston Matthews will once again keep them relevant. 

Metropolitan Division:

New York Rangers: Vincent Trocheck is a step above Ryan Strome; the "kids" seem poised to have a break out year; and last season's Vezina trophy winner Igor Shesterkin is the best in the league. Chris Drury has done a masterful job as GM.

Carolina Hurricanes: Yes, Brent Burns is better than Tony DeAngelo, and they got Max Pacioretty from the Golden Knights ostensibly for free, but losing Trocheck to the Rangers and Nino Niederreiter to the Predators will cost them.

Pittsburgh Penguins: They kept "the band" together. So what? The last time this "band" won a playoff series was 2018. The core of this team is old and getting older. Ron Hextall keeps punting the ball hoping for a muff. It won't work.

Wild Cards: 

Boson Bruins: God only knows how Don Sweeney managed to entice Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to return on such team-friendly contracts - $2.5m and $1m respectively. Good for him. Sans them, this team would have a hard time staying above .500. But even with both on the roster, it's hard imagining them going far in the playoffs.

Columbus Blue Jackets: They made the biggest splash during the offseason, signing Johnny Gaudreau and then re-signed Patrik Laine. They'll score a ton of goals but struggle on D. 

Western Conference:

Central Division: 

Colorado Avalanche: They steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup championship last season, going 16-4 in the tournament. And while losing Nazem Kadri to the Flames will test the depth of this team, the core is about as elite as it gets.

Nashville Predarors: McDonagh and Niederreiter were solid additions during the offseason and will make this team a formidable opponent during both the regular and postseason. Their goaltending is elite and their defense is among the best in the league.

St. Louis Blues: Balanced scoring throughout the lineup makes them a genuine threat, and Jordan Binnington is still one of the better goalies in the league.

Pacific Division:

Calgary Flames: Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Their two best players departed over the summer: one via free agency, the other via a trade, and they managed to actually get better. Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the best forwards in the league and Kadri was the second best center on last year's Colorado Cup team. Despite last season's poor showing against the Oilers in the second round, Jacob Markstrom is an outstanding goaltender.

Edmonton Oilers: I'm going out on a limb here by picking them again for second place. They have the scoring up front with Connor McDavid; the issue is the defense. Jack Campbell may not be an elite goalie, but he's head over heels better than Mike Smith.

L.A. Kings: They lucked out when the Wild had to shed Kevin Fiala's contract in an obvious salary dump. Now they will at least be able to put some pucks in the net. Jonathan Quick should still have enough left in the tank to give them first-rate goaltending.

Wild Cards:

Minnesota Wild: Fiala was a salary cap casualty. And that's unfortunate for a team that challenged for second place in the division last season. They re-signed Marc-Andre Fleury so that will help.

Vancouver Canucks: Now that they've extended J.T. Miller and they have their coach in place, I expect they will do what they should've done last year: make the playoffs.

Close but no cigar:

Eastern Conference:

New York Islanders: For the second straight offseason, Lou Lamoriello failed to add an elite scorer to this otherwise pedestrian forward group. Pity Mathew Barzall, who deserves better than what he's been given.

Washington Capitals: They needed to get younger and didn't. The good news is that at least their fans will be able to see Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's goal record.

New Jersey Devils: They needed a sniper on the wing; they got Ondrej Palat. They needed a solid goaltender; they got Vitek Vanecek. They'll score a lot of goals; they'll give up more.

Western Conference:

Vegas Golden Knights: Their successful pursuit of Jack Eichel has cost them Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Max Pacioretty. It will now cost them a second-consecutive postseason berth.

Dallas Stars: They extended the Flames a full seven games in the opening round of the playoffs last season. This year they won't get that chance.

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers over the Lightning 4-2

Western Conference Finals: Avalanche over the Flames 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals: Avalanche over the Rangers 4-2

Year End Awards:

Presidents' Trophy: Colorado Avalanche

Art Ross Trophy: Connor McDavid, Oilers

Hart Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames

Norris Trophy: Roman Josi, Predators

Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Jack Adams Award: Gerard Gallant, Rangers

Conn Smythe Trophy: Cale Makar, Avalanche

Latest Pierre-Luc Dubois Rumors Have That "Déjà Vu All Over Again" Look and Feel

It was about this time last year that rumors started surfacing about Jack Eichel being traded to New York in a mega deal that lit up the Twitterverse. The names that were being tossed around as a possible return haul included Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, a number one pick and a prospect or two. Putting aside Eichel's neck injury - which thankfully has healed since - it was simply too steep a price to pay, I argued at the time. And besides, the contract ($10 million AAV) would hamper Chris Drury's ability to field a roster capable of competing in an NHL that demands, above all else, depth.

Well, as it turns out, Eichel wound up in Vegas, and the Rangers, with a slightly more robust lineup, had their best season in seven years, advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference finals before finally losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Funny how things have a way of turning out.

Fast forward a year and another high-profile center's name has popped up as a potential trade target for the Blueshirts. To be clear, Pierre-Luc Dubois would make a great addition to the Rangers lineup. He's young (24), big (6'3" 218 lbs), and, unlike Eichel last year, completely healthy and ready to go on day one. And, as Larry Brooks wrote in The New York Post, he was Artemi Panarin's center back in the days when both played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, so there's no chemistry issue here. 

I confess, the thought of this team having two number-one lines next season intrigues me. It also would make it harder for opposing coaches to key on Mika Zibanejad's line the way Rod Brind'Amour and Jon Cooper did in last year's playoffs. And let's be honest, the Rangers haven't had a genuine one-two punch since 1997 when Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky were reunited for the last time. That was twenty-five years ago!

But I keep coming back to a salary cap that increases about the same way glaciers melt. The last two seasons, the cap was stuck at $81.5 million; next season, it increases to $82.5 million; and the season after that, it goes up to $83.5 million. It won't be until the 2025-26 season that the salary cap will resume its pre-pandemic upward trend. In the meantime, every general manager in the league will have to make some hard and unpleasant choices with respect to their rosters. Just yesterday, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin was forced to trade the rights to RFA Kevin Fiala in exchange for a first round pick because they couldn't afford to re-sign him. The explosive winger finished second in team scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov. Think about the anguish that must've caused Guerin, who now has the unenviable task of finding a replacement for such a talented player.

Guerin isn't the only GM up against it. In Colorado, Joe Sakic is going to lose the services of his number two center in Nazem Kadri to free agency because the Avalanche don't have the cap space to re-sign him. In Florida, Bill Zito has about $3 million in cap space with which to sign six players. I imagine he's going to have a pretty busy summer. If Panthers fans thought it couldn't get any worse than being swept in the second round, just wait until they take a gander at what next season's roster is likely to look like. To quote the late, great Robin Williams, "Reality, what a concept."

Compared to what some of his fellow brethren are going through, Drury is living the high life. Including Vitali Kravtsov and Braden Schneider, the Rangers have 16 players on the active roster. The maximum number allowed is 23. That leaves them with about $10 million available to sign seven players. If he can unload Patrik Nemeth's contract, he would have an extra $2.5 million in the kitty, but then he would have to find someone to replace Nemeth, so some of that $2.5 million would be re-allocated.

Assume for a moment that Winnipeg GM Kevin Sheveldayoff is in a good mood and only asks for Filip Chytil and a draft pick in return for Dubois. Let's also assume that Vladimir Putin pulls all his troops out of Ukraine tomorrow while we're at it. The Rangers would gain $2.3 million in cap space, but would have to sign Dubois, who last season earned $5 million and is arbitration eligible. That means even without a long-term deal, Dubois is looking at an increase of somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 million. If the Rangers want to avoid a messy arbitration battle, they will have to come to the table with a substantial offer. Think $7 million x 7 years. That comes out to $49 million over the duration of the contract. And that assumes Dubois would even agree to that number. Let's not forget it costs a bit more to live in New York than it does in Manitoba. For what a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan goes for, you can buy three four-bedroom, two-bath houses in Winnipeg and still have enough left over to buy your own Zamboni. 

But let's say they get it done. Consider the ramifications here. The Rangers would have a staggering $51.1 million committed to just six players. That's 62 percent of the team's salary cap. To put that in perspective, the top six players on the Toronto Maple Leafs comprise 65 percent - $53.5 million - of the team's salary cap. And the last time the Leafs won a playoff series, George Bush was still insisting the U.S. had won the war in Iraq. With K'Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere both up for extensions in '23, the Blueshirts are staring at cap hell. Is this really the model Drury wants to adopt? A roster so top heavy it will fail in the postseason? Somehow I doubt it.

What I think is going on here is that Drury is exploring all his options, which is the smart thing to do. Only a fool would shut the door on the possibility of adding a player as talented as Dubois. And Drury is no fool. But make no mistake about it, he took notes during the playoffs and he knows that even though they were denied in their quest for a threepeat, the Tampa Bay Lightning model is the correct way to go. If he's not entirely sold that Chytil has what it takes to assume the duties of 2C, and he's unable to re-sign Andrew Copp to a manageable number, he will look outside the organization for a player that will meet the team's needs while affording him the financial flexibility to build a Stanley Cup championship roster.

That's how every team that's been successful has done it in the cap era. The fact is, as exciting as fantasy teams might be, they seldom win in the playoffs. That's why they're called fantasy teams.

No Jack City

Well, day one of free agency in the NHL came and went and Jack Eichel - or as he's known in certain social media circles, the second coming of Wayne Gretzky - is still a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Apparently, the fact that Chris Drury didn't panic and give away the farm for the privilege of bringing the injured center to Manhattan isn't going over very well among the faithful.

Frankly, I'm relieved. I am on record as being against this trade. It's risky, given Eichel's health; it would cost too much in assets; and it doesn't make this team better where it counts - in the playoffs. So, as far as I'm concerned, Jack can stay in Buffalo until it snows in August.

If anything, I was a bit miffed that Drury wasn't a little more aggressive shoring up his bottom six. Barclay Goodrow and Samuel Blais are a good start, but when you consider that the Calgary Flames were able to sign Blake Coleman for $4.9 million AAV, it's a little hard to imagine Drury couldn't get him for an even $5 mill. The guy's a legit 20 goal scorer and he and Goodrow would've made a great PK unit.

Now Drury will have to look elsewhere to complete that line. Might I suggest he place a call to Nick Ritchie's agent. The now former Boston Bruin scored 15 goals last season and weighs an impressive 230 pounds. I'd say that's pretty gritty, wouldn't you? He's currently a UFA and made only $1.5 million last year. I'm guessing three years at $2 mill AAV should close the deal. If that's too rich for the Rangers, they could inquire what it would take to pry Ryan Reaves from the Vegas Golden Knights. Reaves (34) is in the final year of a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.75M. He's 6' 2", 225 pounds and hits anything that moves. In his first two years in Vegas, he registered 305 and 316 hits respectively. The man's a truck on skates.

But the day wasn't a total loss for Drury. He did manage to complete the back end of his defense by signing Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi. The former was a rental with the Colorado Avalanche last season, and at 6' 3", 229 pounds is a classic stay-at-home defenseman who will play alongside Nils Lundkvist next season; the latter played for the Bruins last season, and at 6' 6", 215 pounds is a depth defenseman who will fill in on those nights when the opposition is a bit more, how shall I say it, brawny. Nemeth's AAV is $2.5 million times three years and Tinordi's is $900k times two. One additional note, Tinordi went toe to toe with Tom Wilson last year and held his own, so circle October 13 on your calendar when the Blueshirts open their season against the Capitals in Washington. Might want to set the DVR while you're at it.

Drury also inked a couple of depth forwards that will likely start the year in Hartford. Their salary won't count against the cap, which is good. That leaves the Rangers with about $18 million in available cap space to re-sign their own RFAs plus any additional players they may want. Assuming they trade Ryan Strome, that should give them more than enough cap room to extend Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Kaapo Kakko next year. If not, they can always consult Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BrisBois. The man is a genius when it comes to working around the cap.

To sum up, a good day that could've been better, but at least wasn't a disaster. I'll take it.

P.S.: Just as this piece was being put to bed, Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported that the Rangers have come to terms with RFA Filip Chytil. Two years at $2.3M AAV. That leaves Igor Shesterkin as the lone RFA yet to re-sign. I don't count Libor Hajek, who with the signing of Tinordi, is now pretty much out of a job with this franchise. That makes all three of the players the Rangers got in return for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller in 2018 bonafide busts: Hajek, Brett Howden and, wait for it, Vladislav Namestnikov. Not quite the worst trade in Rangers' history, but definitely in the top five.

Chris Drury Comes Face to Face with Basic Math

In a perfect world - before the NHL instituted a salary cap - Pavel Buchnevich would still be a New York Ranger. Don't kid yourself. When Chris Drury says that there's only so much cap space and ice time to go around, he's only being half truthful. You think for one moment that Gerard Gallant wouldn't have found ice time for a top six forward who scored almost a point per game this past season? Of course he would've, and so would you or any half-way reasonably sane head coach.

The problem was the salary cap. Period. No matter how many permutations you care to run - and, trust me, I ran them all - beyond the 2021-22 season, there was simply no room for him. Not with the contract renewals that are coming over the next three years. Below are the estimates of where I expect each player to wind up at. Remember, these are ONLY estimates.

2021-22: Filip Chytil ($2M) and Igor Shesterkin ($4M); 

2022-23: Mika Zibanejad ($9M), Ryan Strome ($6.5M), Adam Fox ($9M), Kaapo Kakko ($4M), Vitali Kravtsov ($3.5M) and Alexandar Georgiev ($3M); 

2023-24: Alexis Lafreniere ($6M) and K'Andre Miller ($4M). 

That comes out to a cool $51 million.

Now let's add in the players currently under contract through at least 2024. Chris Kreider ($6.5M), Jacob Trouba ($8M), Ryan Lindgren ($3M), Barclay Goodrow ($3.6M), Blake Coleman - yes, I'm including him - ($5M), and figure an additional $6 million to fill out the roster. That comes out to $32.1 million.

All told, the final nut is $83.1 million. Let's assume the salary cap goes up two million to $83.5M. You're pretty much maxed out. Now if you can somehow manage to squeeze an additional $5.5 million - the expected value of Buchnevich's next contract - into that mix and still come out under the cap, you must be using some imaginary math I'm not familiar with. And keep in mind, since the above numbers are only estimates, the actual total could be higher.

The bottom line is this: It wasn't a question of why Buchnevich had to go, but when. The truth is that by choosing to hold onto him at last year's trade deadline, the Rangers lost any chance they had of extracting equal value for him. And now with every GM in the league knowing the tight spot Drury was in, there was zero chance he was going to get a decent return on investment. Face it, it was a buyer's market and Drury knew it. With no other choice left to him, he was forced to sell low.

And just in case you were wondering why Drury didn't sign him to a one-year deal, the reason is that Buchnevich had already agreed to a two-year deal once before. This time around he was looking for a long-term contract. It's highly unlikely he would've agreed to a one year deal. But let's say he did. Do you think the outcome would've been any different? If anything, Drury might've had a harder time moving Buchnevich at next year's trade deadline, especially with the entire league knowing he was going to be a UFA. Hell, he'd be lucky to get a mid-round pick for him.

Be grateful that Drury at least got a bottom six forward and a second round pick in next year's draft. Out in Colorado, the Avalanche might well end up losing one of their top forwards for nothing. Brendon Saad, who made $6 million last season, is now a UFA. After signing Cale Maker to a $9 million per year contract, the Avalanche have about $20 million in cap space left to re-sign four forwards (one of whom is Gabriel Landeskog), a defenseman and a goalie. Landeskog recently rejected an offer of $6* million per for five years. Let's assume that both sides eventually come to an agreement on $9 million per over seven years. Now you've got $11 million leftover for three forwards, one defenseman and the goalie. That's an average of $2.2 million per player. In other words, bye, bye Brendon Saad.

And it gets worse for the Avalanche. In two years Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3M) becomes an unrestricted free agent. You think Jack Eichel's worth $10 million? Wait'll MacKinnon hits the open market. The bidding will start at a cool $12 mill. This is the nightmare scenario every GM in the league is grappling with right now. Over the next couple of years, teams will be forced to part with top-tier talent for little or next to nothing just to remain compliant with a cap that, thanks to the worst pandemic in over a century, is artificially low. Whether you're name is Chris Drury or Joe Sakic, the job is the same. Put the best possible product you can on the ice and let the chips fall where they may.

Speaking of Eichel, if we're going to skewer Drury over the Buchnevich salary dump, he deserves credit for not panicking and giving up the farm for the disgruntled star. The Buffalo Sabres seem to have miscalculated here. Their excessive and unrealistic demands were soundly rejected, not just by the Rangers, but by every other team they were in discussions with. Kudos to Drury for holding the line. With the 15th pick in the draft, the Rangers took a winger who is the sort of north-south type player they desperately need more of. 

Yes, yesterday was a rough day; a sobering day. Pavel Buchnevich is gone. It sucks, I know, but that's life. They'll be better days ahead. This team should continue to improve, and if the kids play up their potential, they could make the playoffs this coming season.

Last time I checked, that was the "unofficial" goal, right?

* Correction: earlier I wrote that Landeskog had rejected a $7 million offer. It was actually $6 million. I have made the correction.

 

Three Reasons Why the Rangers Shouldn't Trade for Jack Eichel

Before I get to Jack Eichel, a few thoughts on the Goodrow signing. $3.642 million per year for six years may seem a little steep, but when you consider what he brings to the table, you can live with it. In fact, when this contract expires in 2027, Goodrow will be the same age Cal Clutterbuck will be next year when his contract expires, and he's getting paid $3.5 million. Question, who would you rather have, Goodrow or Clutterbuck? Before you answer that, go back and watch game seven against the Islanders. It's pretty clear that Goodrow was the better player. 

The fact is Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Goodrow were, pound for pound, the best skaters on the ice for the Lightning in both the semifinals and Cup finals. If Chris Drury can add Coleman and a physical defenseman this summer, he will go a long way towards making this team considerably tougher to play against next season.

Which leads me to... the main course.

There are three reasons why the Rangers should NOT trade for Eichel.

The health concerns: I've never had a neck injury, but from everything I've read, it's one of the most serious and chronic conditions an athlete can have. And it's nothing to trifle with. Even if Eichel is 100 percent ready to go by September - and that's highly unlikely given what we know about his condition - he's one cross check away from spending half a season or more on the I.R. It would be the height of irresponsibility for Drury to acquire a player who might not be able to finish out his contract, and even if he does, will be a shell of himself for the balance of it. The risk is simply too great here.

The contract: Given that there will be a flat cap in the league for the next few years, Eichel's $10 million salary is a huge nut for an organization that still hasn't signed its own RFAs, a list that includes Pavel Buchnevich and Igor Shesterkin. Next year, they will have to pony up to retain Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Strome and Mika Zibanejad. And the year after that, Alexis Lafreniere will be a restricted free agent. Even if Drury trades both Buchnevich and Strome - and there appear to be some suitors - as I wrote in my last piece, whomever he gets in return will not come cheap. 

Fox's contract alone could come in at between $7 million and $9 million per year depending on what the Colorado Avalanche and Cale Makar come to terms with this summer. Makar, an RFA, was the runner up to Fox for the Norris Trophy last season. If Drury doesn't have the money to keep these players, then everything this organization and its fans went through the last four years will be for naught. The key to his success will be how well he manages the resources he has.

The wrong fit: Even without the neck injury and with a salary cap that isn't flat, Eichel is the wrong fit for this franchise. He does nothing to address the team's most glaring needs. If anything, he's a younger version of Zibanejad with a higher price tag and a slightly less imposing shot. If Drury were to trade for him, he'd have to give up assets that would weaken other areas of the team - I'm guessing Filip Chytil, K'Andre Miller, either Vitali Kravtsov or Kakko and a number one draft pick. That is simply too steep a price to pay.

Instead of trying to replicate the Toronto Maple Leafs, an organization that has been an unmitigated disaster in the postseason, Drury should borrow a page out of Lou Lamoriello's playbook. There isn't one player on the Islanders with a contract over $7 million, and they were one win away from the Stanley Cup finals. With a few maneuvers this off-season, the best GM in the business is positioning his team to, once again, contend for the Cup. And with a healthy Anders Lee, they might just win it.

I'll say it again: The way the NHL is currently structured, teams that are overly laden with talented players simply don't succeed. What you need is a healthy balance between talent and grit. The Lightning have some of the most talented players in hockey, yet it was their foot soldiers who were responsible for them winning back-to-back Cups. Don't take my word for it; just go to the video tape, as an old New York sportscaster was fond of saying.

The Rangers have some talented players of their own. Maybe not on the same level as the Lightning, but hardly chopped liver. After they buy out Tony DeAngelo's contract, they will have around $23 million to spend, minus the $3 million or so they will need for performance bonuses. Drury has the 15th pick in Friday's Entry Draft. He can either keep it or include it in a package for a player or players that can help this team become a legitimate playoff contender. For instance, Tampa doesn't have a number one pick this year. Would they consider trading Anthony Cirelli and Ross Colton for Chytil, Kravtsov, Zac Jones and the Rangers number one pick? It's certainly worth a phone call to find out. 

In Seattle, after a less than impressive Expansion Draft, it's obvious that Ron Francis needs help at center. Given he's got enough left handed defensemen to start an army with, I'm sure a trade could be worked out. Perhaps Strome straight up for Carson Soucy. The Kraken get a solid pivot man and Drury gets the sturdy defenseman he needs on the third pairing along with $1.75 million in cap relief.

And then there's the free agent market. As we've already seen, Drury isn't hesitant about going that route. While Goodrow was a nice beginning, as Larry Brooks writes in The New York Post, he needs to be surrounded with "complimentary players" in order to be effective. The Rangers didn't sign Nick Fotiu here.

The point is, Drury has options available to him. What he can ill afford is to tie up 12 percent of his salary cap on a one-dimensional, albeit, star that'll light up the score sheet against the Devils and Sabres but get pushed around by the Islanders and Bruins. He already has an abundance of those types of players.

Which direction will he go? We'll know soon enough.

Drury's on the Clock

With his head coach and assistants in place, Chris Drury turned his attention to next week's Expansion Draft. But before he submitted his list of players he was going to protect, only one of whom - Kevin Rooney - was unexpected, he managed to swing a couple of deals, one of which could end up being the springboard that transforms this team of cream puffs into a team with some spine.

In a move that took most people by surprise, Drury traded a 7th round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for UFA Barclay Goodrow. You might ask why would Drury waste a pick on someone who's going to be a free agent in 10 days? Because he now has exclusive rights to negotiate a deal with Goodrow BEFORE he hits the open market, that's why.

The other move was equally surprising and provides some closure on one of the worst trades in Rangers history. Drury unloaded Brett Howden - acquired in the now infamous Ryan McDonagh / J.T. Miller deal -on the Vegas Golden Knights for a 4th round pick and defenseman Nick DeSimone, who's also a pending UFA but will likely sign elsewhere. The fact that Drury got anything north of a used puck bag for Howden was a bonus. While McDonagh has been a major cog for a Lightning team that has won back to back Stanley Cups, Howden has been a huge bust, scoring a paltry 49 points in three seasons in the NHL.

But getting back to Goodrow, Drury cannot afford to let him test the free agent waters. At 6' 2", 203 pounds and only 28, he's just what the doctor ordered for a team that looks at driving to the net the same way vampires look at sunrises. Though he played mostly left wing for the Bolts, Jon Cooper often relied on him to take important draws. His 50 percent win ratio would instantly make him the Rangers best face-off man. Don't be shocked if Gerard Gallant uses him at center. Imagine Goodrow and fellow Lightning line mate Blake Coleman out there killing penalties and making life a living hell for opposing teams best offensive lines. 

A while back I wrote that Drury needed to target both Goodrow and Coleman during the off season. If he were to sign Goodrow before the 28th, he would be half-way home. How hard do you think it would be to entice Coleman to come to New York with Goodrow already inked? I'm guessing not that hard at all.

The question is how high does Drury go? The last two seasons, Goodrow made $925,000 per. Clearly, having played a not-so insignificant role in this year's Cup run, he's due for a substantial pay raise. Word is Goodrow is looking for a six-year contract at $3.25 million per, while Drury would prefer a four-year term at $2.5 million per. I'm thinking split the difference: five years at $3 million per. That's $15 million over half a decade. More than fair, and it gives Drury the flexibility he needs to go after Coleman and retain his own RFAs, plus add a physical defenseman to play on the third defensive pairing. Perhaps Ryan Suter could be had for $1.5 million.

Let's not forget that while the Rangers have $23 million in available cap space to play with this offseason, after next year, they will have several players who will be seeking huge pay increases. Mika Zibanejad, who's currently making $5.35 million, will be a UFA, and Adam Fox, fresh off his Norris Trophy win and making only $925,000, will be an RFA. Even if Zibanejad were to take a home-town discount, you gotta think he's going to get somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 million per over six years. As for Fox, assuming the Rangers opt for a two-year bridge deal, that's still going to translate to at least $5 million per. And then there's Ryan Strome, who's signed to a team-friendly $4.5 million this upcoming season. If Drury decides to retain him, he too will come with a hefty price tag. If he trades him, whoever he gets in return will not be cheap.

Welcome to today's NHL, where the salary cap is expected to stay flat for quite some time. Money just doesn't go as far as it used to. Now you know why I was so against the Rangers trading for Jack Eichel. Not only is he the wrong player for this franchise, his $10 million cap hit would cripple the team's ability to make the changes necessary to become a contender for the foreseeable future. Ask the Edmonton Oilers how it feels to have two players tie up over $20 million in salary cap space. The same Edmonton Oilers team, mind you, that has won exactly one playoff game the last two seasons. Or how about the Toronto Maple Leafs, who haven't won a playoff series in seventeen years and blew a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens? With three players combining for $33 million in salary and $75 million already committed next season, they don't have enough cap space to sign their two best checking forwards, Zach Hyman and Nick Foligno. That's called incompetence, people.

Drury cannot allow that to happen to the Rangers. He knows he'll only get one shot to get this right. He has all the chips he needs to make the right moves. What he can't do is panic just for the sake of making a splash. His counterpart on Long Island wrote the book on extracting maximum value from players, and he has the championship rings to show for it. Love 'em or hate 'em, right now the Islanders are closer to winning a Stanley Cup than the Rangers are. Only a fool would bet against Lou Lamoriello, or think he can be upstaged. This about it: while Drury was getting the negotiating rights to Goodrow for a seventh rounder, Lamoriello got the Arizona Coyotes to take Andrew Ladd and his $5.5 million cap hit off his hands for two second rounders and a third rounder. Who do you think had a better day?

The bottom line? Drury's on the clock. This is his make or break moment.

Where Do the Rangers Go From Here?

Now that the season is over, I thought I'd share some thoughts on what lies ahead for the Rangers. I'll confine my comments to the coaching staff and personnel.

Torts, Part Deux?

John Tortorella is out in Columbus, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one who was paying attention. While the Blue Jackets did make the playoffs four times during his tenure, the bottom fell out this year and both sides had had enough. It's also no secret that James Dolan likes the former Rangers head coach and feels he never should have been fired back in 2013. But while Tortorella is still a good coach, his act is wearing a little thin around the league. He was single-handedly responsible for the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg for Patrik Laine and then benched the latter when - surprise - he wound up in the doghouse. If Chris Drury decides to make a change behind the bench - and all reports indicate David Quinn's chances of being retained are 50/50 at best - he should stay as far away from Tortorella as possible. Quite frankly, the game has passed him by.

Kinkaid or Georgiev as backup goalie?

If, like me, you were wondering why Quinn decided to start Keith Kinkaid instead of Alexandar Georgiev in the season finale in Boston, it probably had to do with determining which goalie the Rangers are going to keep as Igor Shesterkin's backup. Both Kinkaid and Georgiev are signed through next season, but Kinkaid is making $825,000 while Georgiev is making $2.4 million. Assuming the organization believes Shesterkin can handle a workload of 60 games and Kinkaid can cut it in the backup role, they will likely expose Georgiev in the Seattle expansion draft and use the savings to re-sign Brendan Smith to a one-year deal. Keep in mind, Tyler Wall is also in the system and is currently on an entry level contract through next season, so the Rangers have depth at this position.

Eichel or No Eichel?

As expected, the Jack Eichel trade rumors have started up again. The Buffalo Sabres' center missed most of last season with an upper-body injury, but that hasn't stopped every beat writer around the NHL from pontificating on when, not if, the Rangers will land him, especially since Eichel has already hinted that he wants out. But as talented as Eichel is, he's basically a Mika Zibanejad clone. And at $10 million per season, he would tie up a substantial portion of the team's available cap space for the foreseeable future. Not to mention that in order to get him, the Rangers would have to pay a hefty price in players and perhaps even draft choices. The smart move is to bulk up on the wing and leave the center slot alone for now. But if Drury is under orders to improve this position, he should head down the Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia. The Flyers had a horrific season and could be persuaded to move Sean Couturier for the right package. Couturier is a bonafide 30 goal scorer, who weighs 210 pounds, isn't shy in the corners, and, most importantly, won 56 percent of his face-offs this season. And his $4.3 million salary is far more manageable than Eichel's.

True Grit!

Not to beat a dead horse, but Oliver Wahlstrom scored his 12th goal for the Islanders Monday tonight against the Bruins. He could've been a Ranger. That being said, a number of unrestricted free agents will be available this off season and several of them could be attractive targets for the Blueshirts. Among the forwards, Blake Coleman - who I wrote about in my last piece - and Barclay Goodrow, would be outstanding additions. On defense, Jamie Oleksiak might be the best value in the league. He weighs a whopping 250 pounds, and at 28, he could anchor the backline for years to come. Then there's rookie Morgan Barron who made a favorable impression in the last few games of the season and should earn a spot on next year's roster. Imagine a fourth line of Goodrow on the left, Barron at center and Julien Gauthier on the right; and a third line of Coleman and Chris Kreider flanking Couturier in the middle. That would be a formidable bottom six. I'd like to see the Isles push those guys around.

The Messier factor.

Look, The Captain is my favorite Ranger of all time, but under no circumstances should he be given a prominent role in this organization. The last time the Rangers made the mistake of giving someone who was clearly unqualified the keys to the kingdom, it was Phil Esposito. And it took Neil Smith three years to overcome the damage he did. If Dolan wants to give Messier a job, he should hire him as an announcer for the MSG network. Maybe he can take over for Steve Valiquette, who seems to be bucking for an analytics position within the organization.

The Bottom Line.

The Rangers will have approximately $24 million in cap space to sign their own free agents and/or other teams free agents. That gives them a leg up on just about every team in the NHL. How well Drury spends that money will determine whether this team progresses or regresses. Based on how well Dolan handled not making the playoffs this year, the pressure to succeed couldn't be greater.

Rangers Do the Right Thing and Stand Pat

The trade deadline came and went and Jeff Gorton didn't flinch. The man who three years ago let millions of Rangers fans know via a letter that the team which had twice gone to the conference finals and once to the Stanley Cup finals was going to be torn down and rebuilt, resisted the urge to take a short cut and stood pat.

Not that it was all that difficult a choice for Gorton. The players who were available were, for the most part, rentals at best and came with a high premium. To give up a first round pick for a player who not only would've been gone in a couple of months but would've taken a valuable spot away from an up and comer, might well have set the whole rebuild back a year, maybe more.

And while the team has taken something of a step backwards in its development this year, the immediate future looks quite promising. The Kid line of Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere is finally starting to click; newcomer Vitali Kravtsov picked up his first point against the Islanders on Sunday; sophomore Adam Fox is tied with Victor Hedman for the most points among defensemen; and, as we speak, the Rangers are in the process of signing UMass phenom defenseman Zac Jones to an entry level contract. I expect him to make his professional debut soon.

Not counting Tony DeAngelo - whom they will surely buy out - the Rangers will have an extra $13 million in available cap space to play with going into next season. More than enough to work out a trade for Jack Eichel, assuming the Sabres aren't unreasonable in their demands. Gorton would've been nuts to panic now.

Indeed, the Rangers, despite the prospect of missing the post season three out of the last four years, are sitting pretty when it comes to the salary cap. Virtually every team from the Islanders to the Tampa Bay Lightning is going to have to make some tough decisions about which players they can retain and still stay under the cap, which for the foreseeable future is going to be flat at $81.5 million. Apart from extending Pavel Buchnevich to what will likely be a hefty raise, I don't anticipate Gorton having any issues with his contracts.

And then there's the Seattle expansion draft, where each team is allowed to protect seven forwards, three defenseman and one goaltender. Here again, the Rangers are in the cat-bird's seat. Thanks to a plethora of entry-level contracts that exempts almost a third of the roster from exposure, it's entirely possible the Blueshirts will emerge as the only team in the league to remain intact going into next season. Gorton couldn't have designed this any better if he'd tried.

That's not to say that everything is hunky dory over at the Garden. Far from it. There are still a lot of unanswered questions concerning the makeup of this team. They have way too many east-west type players that can bury the puck if you give them the room, but when you take away their passing lanes and force them out of their comfort zone, they tend to disappear. The three-game sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes last year, as we now know, wasn't an anomaly; it was a red flag. They're way too soft, and management must find a way of injecting some muscle into this bunch if they are ever going to take the next step forward.

But even with all that, things are looking up for this organization. The glass is more than half filled, and by this time next year, this young and, at times, exciting group of players, should be a playoff team.