Tuesday was the second day of the five-day Rangers prospect development camp. Like Monday, the players were split into group. But as I said yesterday, the real test will come when scrimmages start, which is scheduled for today, Wednesday.
Two pieces of news dominated the day, neither of which related to the development camp.
First, J.T. Miller received a five year, $26.25 million deal to remain with the Lightning, When New York dealt him to Tampa, one part of the rationale that was speculated as a possible reason for the trade was the concern over what he would want in a contract. Miller earned the deal with his regular season but the offset has to be his three goals in 57 playoff games. Despite signing Miller, Tampa is still all in on John Tavares. If JT does sign with the Lightning - which right now is a longshot - Tyler Johnson likely will need to be dealt, unless Tampa can find a taker for Ryan Callahan, facilitating that move with eating part of his $5.8 million salary, or possibly Alex Killorn, who is signed for four more years at $4.45 mil per
In a year, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point will both need to get paid. But the Lightning do have $16 million in salaries freeing up, as McDonagh, Stralman, Coburn and Girardi all are on expiring contracts. Tampa would like to re-sign McD, which will come in at $5+ million per year. But remember, due to the lack of state tax, players in Florida and Texas bring home more than counterparts; a key factor in negotiations.
For New York, the impact is two-fold. First, I wonder what Vladislav Namestnikov thinks seeing the man who replaced get such a big deal, knowing there is no way he gets that salary in New York. Second, what does the Miller contract mean for Kevin Hayes? Hayes, an RFA, after the season is looking for 4-5 years at $5.5 mil per season, at least accordingly to Larry Brooks. To me, that is likely a starting negotiating point. If he can be signed for four years and anywhere between $4.75-$5.25, which is just under what Mika Zibanejad is making, that is acceptable. You know my view on Hayes and what I think he brings to the team and will bring in the future.
One driver for that possibly salary can be seen here:
This is one of the reason why Hayes could get a nice return. His work at 5v5, especially primary production is beastly. Conversely why he's worth keeping too. https://t.co/Aa4FigIyeQ pic.twitter.com/zY6zwTpCR6
β Tom Urtz Jr. π₯ Γ°ΕΈβΕ Γ°ΕΈββ°Γ°ΕΈΕ½Β° (@TomUrtzJr) June 18, 2018
Answer the poll:
The second news was the selection of Martin St. Louis to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He is joined by Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford, Alexander Yakushev as players along with Willie O'Ree and Gary Bettman in the builder category. MSL, who broke in with Calgary as an undrafted free agent and has most of his success in Tampa, only spent a few years in New York, but he made an immediate impact, helping the Rangers reach the Cup Finals in 2014 and Eastern Conference Finals in 2015. One key stat that struck me, from the 2003-04 season through St. Louis' final campaign in 2014-15, only Joe Thornton and Alex Ovechkin outscored St-Louis, who accumulated 868 points over an 852-game span en route to finishing his career with 391 goals and 1,033 points in 1,134 games.
A legendary honor for a man who has left a lasting impact as a Blueshirt and throughout the hockey community
β New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 26, 2018
We congratulate and salute you @mstlouis_26 on your induction to @HockeyHallFame! pic.twitter.com/mAqrbMQusF
Still a great goal pic.twitter.com/A6fkU8OJE4
β Joseph (@cosmopazzo) June 26, 2018
Bettman is the polarizing name. Why he has grown hockey into a $4 billion industry, he was the direct cause of the various lockouts in his tenure and his stance on CTE and concussions makes several blanche at his name. I tweeted this question: could Bettman get booed at his own Hall of Fame ceremonies?
Still waiting for the call includes, Alfredsson, Mogilny, Zubov, Roenick, Tkachuk, Fleury, CuJo, BrindβAmour, Lowe and Gonchar. A fairly auspicious list. Add in Doug Wilson, Pat Verbeek, Pierre Turgeon, Boris Mikhailov, Chris Osgood, Reggie Leach etc. and that's nearly a full hockey club that could eventually make the HHOF.