The New York Rangers Don’t Have a Bad Contract – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

At this point in the NHL offseason, fans and writers like to look at their team’s roster and see which players have good contracts and which have bad ones. A little while back, I wrote about the three best contracts for the New York Rangers. Looking at the roster and the contracts on the books, they have allocated their money well, and while some fans may have concerns over certain players’ deals due to their age, it might not be much of a concern as many think. In this piece, we will go over why the Rangers don’t have a bad contract on the team and their salary cap situation moving forward.

Concerns Over Miller & Zibanejad’s Contracts

If you ask most Rangers fans, the two players whose contracts they are worried about the most are J.T. Miller’s and Mika Zibanejad’s. Miller makes $8 million against the cap for the next four seasons, while Zibanejad makes $8.5 million over that same span. It’s a concern to some because they are already 33 years old as they enter this season, and with little to no center prospects in their farm system that can be seen as top-six players, the Rangers are relying on them to be the number one and two centers on a team trying to get back to the playoffs. While it might not be a big concern over this season or next, it’s valid to question what these players are going to look like when they are age 35 and over.

Zibanejad did have a great bounce-back year last season, scoring 34 goals and recording 78 points in 81 games, but it was Miller’s play that impacted the team in a bad way. He played through a few different injuries, which limited him to only 68 games, where he scored 17 goals and recorded 53 points.

With how much the salary cap is rising over the next few years and what top centers are already getting on their new deals, it’s not the money that fans are concerned about. It’s about how these two players are going to age over the course of these next four seasons and if the Rangers don’t add another top-end center over that time and these players start to decline from what they are. Both Miller and Zibanejad are capable of being top-line centers for this team; the question is how much longer can they be relied on to be those kinds of players?

Igor Shesterkin Is Not Overpaid

Another contract fans had questions about when it was signed was Igor Shesterkin’s eight-year extension that pays him $11.5 million per season. This is the highest-paid contract for a goalie since Carey Price signed his deal with the Montreal Canadiens that paid him $10.5 million per season. Many questioned this extension, as the Rangers tried this before when they made Henrik Lundqvist their highest-paid player, and they were not able to build a good enough team around him to win a Stanley Cup. Goalie is one of the most volatile positions in all of sports, as they can go from having a great year to a terrible year season after season. However, this concern should not be had with Shesterkin, as he is one of, if not the best goalie in the NHL year over year.

Many felt that paying Shesterkin this kind of money would only hold the Rangers back from making other moves, but with how much the salary cap is rising, they are lucky he didn’t ask for more. This team relies on him every night, and without him, they would be one of the worst in the league every season. Shesterkin has been a top goalie in the NHL ever since his debut during the 2019-20 season, and he has proved every year that he is going to be worth every cent of this contract. In a few years, there are going to be more goalies making more than him, and those players might not be as good as he is. Fans should appreciate how great he is, because not many teams can say they have a goalie who is consistent year after year.

The Rangers’ Future Cap Situation

Since the Rangers have managed their cap situation wisely, they are in a good spot moving forward and will have enough to pay the players they see as part of the future. According to PuckPedia, they will have almost $36 million in available cap space next offseason. Some players of note that are going to need extensions are Gabe Perreault, Will Cuylle, Noah Laba, and Braden Schneider. The name that should get the most focus is Perreault, as they should look to get an extension done as early as possible. With how much all of these younger players are getting on their extensions coming out of their entry-level contracts, the Rangers need to be smart and sign him early to also avoid the possibility of him getting an offer sheet.

The Rangers have most of their core locked up for the foreseeable future, which means that they can use their cap flexibility to try and bring in other top-end talent, as they are still trying to compete for a Stanley Cup. One name that everyone is going to be watching is Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers. He is entering the first-year of his two-year extension, and if things don’t go well, he could very well hit free agency in two years.

The Rangers would be all over him if he were to hit the open market, as he would be the top center they have been looking for as Miller and Zibanejad continue to get older. Other names could become available, and with the cap continuing to rise and the Rangers having spent their money in the right ways, they could be a major player for some of these top names.

The Rangers have always been a team that likes to spend to the salary cap max, and right now is no different. During this retool, they have moved out players who took up a good amount of cap space and were able to create some much-needed flexibility. This allowed them to bring in other players and sign their own to deals that look good given where the salary cap is going over the next few years. The Rangers do not have a bad contract on their roster, and that is a good thing moving forward.