Chris Drury and the New York Rangers had a fairly busy day at the Free Agency Frenzy, including four free agent signings and one trade. We all knew what the teams biggest needs were going into today and for the most part, those needs have been addressed. While there may still be some questions regarding certain holes in the lineup and plenty of free agent names still available, given the Rangers cap situation, there isn't a ton of flexibility remaining in what they can do. First, let's run through the Rangers four new additions, talk about the trade and then see what can be done going from here with the team's remaining budget and players available.
Vincent Trocheck, Center
As we approached noon on Wednesday, July 13th, rumors and discussion regarding Vincent Trocheck and the New York Rangers picked up more and more. Not long after the clock struck twelve, the news had broken that the Rangers agreed to terms with Trocheck on a seven year deal with an AAV of $5,625,000. In addition to the long term, Trocheck's deal includes a four year no trade clause. After those four years, Trocheck submits a ten team no trade list that dwindles down to six for the final two years of the deal. Long story short, Vincent Trocheck is a New York Ranger and likely will be for quite some time. So, what does Trocheck the player, bring to this team?
While Trocheck may not be as luxurious of a name as Nazem Kadri or Evgeni Malkin, he does fit the needs of this team rather well. He'll slot in perfectly as the teams second line center and arguably his most important traits are his defensive game and ability to win face-offs. Trocheck's defensive efforts are so strong, he's been nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy twice throughout his career, including as recently as this past season. Trocheck put up 51 points last year with 20 goals and 31 assists but you have to think now that he'll be playing on a line with Artemi Panarin, the potential for those numbers going up only increases. On top of his abilities to put up points and bring a defensive edge to the game, Trocheck has not had less than a 50% success rate on face-offs since 2016. As we learned the hard way in the Carolina series, his ability to win face-offs is extremely valuable and will only prove more so to the Rangers who have been historically bad in that department.
While everything regarding his play and numbers may sound close to perfect, there is some concern to be had with this signing. Similar to many fans, my initial thoughts on this deal were a little uncertain. Seven years is a long term to give to a 29 year old center who likely only has a couple years left of his prime. Typically, there aren't many players who are worth millions of dollars once they cross the bridge that is the age of 35, and Trocheck would not fall into this category.
Now if Filip Chytil does indeed pick up where he left off in the playoffs, he could flip flop with him on the third line. Although, not ideal for a guy making over five and a half million to be playing in the bottom six. Therefore, it's safe to assume Trocheck will be locked in on the second line, likely putting Filip Chytil's future with the Rangers into question.
Jaroslav Halak, Goaltender
One of the other major holes in the Rangers lineup came in the form of a backup goalie. With Alexandar Georgiev getting traded to Colorado, Keith Kinkaid and Adam Huska going to free agency, the Rangers needed to add some depth in net and Jaroslav Halak is the textbook veteran backup solution. Halak is a bit on the old side at 37 years old but has been around the league for 17 years with a career save percentage of .916. When healthy, Halak can certainly be a fringe starter if needed but with Igor Shesterkin being the Vezina winning goalie that he is, you'll likely only need him for give or take 20 games throughout the season. Halak played in 17 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season so assuming he can appear in at least that many games for the Rangers this year, they should be in pretty good shape. While $1,500,000 is about $500,000 too much, it's not a make or break amount of money and the contract is only for a year.
Louis Domingue, Goaltender
Oh, the irony. In the event that injuries strike the Rangers net, Louis Domingue will be next on the depth charts. Rangers fans should be quite familiar with Louis Domingue who made his first playoff appearance in the middle of a triple overtime playoff opener in the first round of the Rangers playoff run against the Penguins. As we all know how that one turned out, you can't help but laugh at the fact that Drury went out and signed him. Playoff history aside, Louis Domingue is a perfect third string goaltender. Assuming he plays at his best if needed at the NHL level, he should be able to win the Rangers a couple games in a pinch. He will also act as a great veteran presence to Dylan Garand and Olof Lindbom who will likely join him in Hartford next season.
Andy Welinski, Defenseman
At 29 years old with only 46 career games in the NHL, the former third round draft pick doesn't have a ton of upside but is a solid depth signing that will likely spend most of the season with the Wolf Pack in the AHL. If injuries come around and the Rangers need to make some call-ups, he'll likely be one of the top candidates. Nevertheless, given the surplus of young Rangers defenders, it's not a bad move at all to bring in some experience.
Patrick Nemeth Trade
With Vincent Trocheck getting the pay day he did and Kaapo Kakko still in need of a contract, Chris Drury went to work in attempts to unload some salary. Patrik Nemeth, who was making around $2,500,00 for the next two seasons with the Rangers was the contract Drury had in mind in attempts to unload. So what do NHL General Managers do when their in a financial pinch? They call the Arizona Coyotes. Low and behold, Drury sent Patrik Nemeth, along with a 2025 second round pick as well as a conditional draft pick in exchange for prospect and former teammate of K'Andre Miller at University of Wisconsin, Ty Emberson. Emberson is a former third round draft pick by the Coyotes with two years left on his entry level deal. Again, with the Rangers depth on the back end it's unlikely Emberson's chances at cracking the NHL are slim in New York but a solid prospect pick up in a deal to shed some salary.
Where Do NYR Go From Here?
Well, sure enough as I finish writing this the Rangers address one of the needs they didn't fill on day one of Free Agency in a depth center role. Just this morning, the Rangers announce the signing of Ryan Carpenter on a one year deal. The 31 year old has been around the league for nine years now and while he hasn't gone the distance, he has plenty of playoff experience, can win face-offs and play a bottom six role which is exactly what the Rangers need to replace Kevin Rooney and Greg McKegg who went off to sign with each of Alberta's teams. So, with this signing in mind, there is a fair chance the Rangers could be done, however it could be in their best interest to look for another depth piece both at forward and defense. Drury still needs to get Kaapo Kakko under contract but until that deal gets done, I wouldn't expect anything else to take priority. As of right now, this is how the Rangers are looking to line up for next season:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Lafreniere
Panarin - Trocheck - Kakko
Blais - Chytil - Kravtsov
Goodrow - Carpenter - Reaves
Hunt - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Hajek - Schneider
One of Tinordi/Jones/Lundkvist/Welinski/Robertson
Shesterkin
Halak
Chris Feldman
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