Honestly, there are a ton of options out there with everything being said/rumors around the league, but I believe this is what the Rangers are going to end up doing.
They will be very cap crunched, but in two years, there will be big contracts off the books and young guys starting to come up.
Buying out/Trading Smith is the only way I see this working. If the Rangers were to palce him in the minors, it would leave less cap to work with and they will have to make other moves they may not want to.
The Buyout would be close to $5,000,000 this year for all players combined, but then it will be at $4,500,000 next year. After that, the buyout payments will drop to about half of that, which will be essential when resigning players or signing UFA's down the road. Not only will it cut in half, Hank, Staal, and Shattenkirk's contracts will be gone, giving the Rangers a lot to play with.
Also, Why not let the yung guys come in and play with guys that are on 1-3 year contracts like Kreider, Strome, Mika, Staal, Shatty. These guys will help these young guys grow quicker. Veteran Presence is everything in a Locker room.
Lastly, trading away Namestnikov is easily the only contract that makes sense. He isn't a bad player, but the Rangers need to clear cap space and he is the only one that hasn't hit his stride. I am not sure what we can get back for him so don't roast me on the draft picks I traded for him in this MOCK GM.
All in All, this will help players previously drafted to play with more seasoned players. The Buyout of Smith will allow the Rangers to clear up cap for this year and the trade of Namestnikov allows rangers to bring up younger guys that may deserve playing time.
Not bad. I like the idea of keeping Kreider. The team is much better with Panarin & Kreider as the top 2 LW's. They could even extend him with $13 mil of space next season when that would kick in & only Georgiev (if he's still on the team), Strome (if they don't move him during the season for some additional cap space) & Nieves as RFA's & Fast UFA next year.
Not bad. I like the idea of keeping Kreider. The team is much better with Panarin & Kreider as the top 2 LW's. They could even extend him with $13 mil of space next season when that would kick in & only Georgiev (if he's still on the team), Strome (if they don't move him during the season for some additional cap space) & Nieves as RFA's & Fast UFA next year.
I know they were trying to deal him, but if they deal him, then they are left with a serious issue on the left side with only Panarin being there. If they keep him and extend him for 6 years at 6.75, he will be a good second liner for them. He is a good net front presence on the powerplay and he can PK. Also, if they keep him. I think Chytill will be better off being between Buch and Kreider because it will take the pressure off of him.
Even though they aren't all in for a big playoff push. This team will not only sell tickets and be fun to watch, but it could possibly be a late wild card team in the end. It will help get guys more NHL ready, and have younger guys they haven't signed yet come up and play in the AHL which would bring up guys that are NHL ready for next year from the AHL like Yegor, Igor, Keane, etc.
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