The Rangers were off on Monday, thought it was Casino Night at MSG yesterday evening. That break from games and practice likely was a welcome respite after four games in six days, including three in five days, with three of those contests in succession on the road. New York resumes practice today and will be on the road in Chicago.
Larry Brooks, in one of of his usual manifestos, spoke about Henrik Lundqvist:
For yes, while this dramatic midseason move to an Igor Shesterkin-Alexandar Georgiev partnership is about next year and the ones immediately thereafter, it has also become about this year. The Rangers believe that these two goaltenders give the team its best chance of winning on any given night. It is difficult to argue with that proposition, Shesterkin and Georgiev having compiled a combined 10-4 mark with a .930 save-pct. and 2.34 GAA since the former’s Jan. 7 debut.
Management obviously does not believe that a Shesterkin-Lundqvist tandem going forward is optimum, or else they’d have given it a try. They’d be preparing for next year while dangling Georgiev to the highest bidder. The hierarchy has not done that. Instead, it has made Lundqvist the third option in a two-goaltender rotation.
A buyout of Lundqvist would save $3 million under the cap but you have to figure $2 million of that would go to Georgiev, who is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Under this scenario, the Rangers would be in for $8.45 million for goaltenders (Lundqvist, $5.5 million; Georgiev, $2 million; Shesterkin, $925,000). That would represent a saving of $975,000 on the position as opposed to a Lundqvist ($8.5 million)-Shesterkin partnership. A buyout would also add $1.5 million in dead space in 2021-22.
Brooks could be playing us all, as a Rangers’ blogger has suggested, trying to build up Georgiev’s value for New York to acquire more if he is dealt. Colorado may need a netminder with Phillip Grubauer sidelined, bolstering Georgiev’s value. (Though with Mikko Rantanen now out as well for weeks, joining Nazem Kadri, the Avalanche are also in the market for a forward, and well you know, the Rangers have several, including one big-named player, who might be available). But let’s take Brooks at face value and believe what he wrote is what he meant.
I have said several times that the three-headed monster in net can be played out for the rest of the season, then revisit the situation after the year. If the team decides to go with Shesterkin and Georgiev between the pipes, you would have a pair of young goalies fighting to prove who is the number one. This creates other logistic nightmares in terms of balancing playing time, but given what the team is currently dealing, that might not be as complex as the dynamic with Lundqvist there.
A buyout creates more dead cap space but frees up enough room to re-sign Georgiev with likely about a million left over. If New York was able to find a trade partner for Lundqvist, the team would have to eat half his salary. Compared to a buyout, that would free up an additional $1.25 million and also avoid dead cap space in 2021-22. That savings could be used to sign a veteran free agent goalie to be exposed in the expansion draft.
All of this sounds relatively reasonable. But remember, Lundqvist holds the majority of the cards due to his NMC. In addition, management will have to factor in his status and tenure in the organization when deciding how best to proceed, even though what matters most is the impact on the team now and for the foreseeable future. President John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton have to play a delicate balancing act. I think we all kind of see what the writing is on the wall. How that story is told and ending written remains to be seen.
With Jason Zucker in Pittsburgh, Blake Coleman off the board to Tampa and Tyler Toffoli now in Vancouver, two potential trade acquisitions are off the board. Moving those two has narrowed the population pool a bit, making it even more if a sellers’ market. If New York does decide to deal Chris Kreider and others, they should have no issue finding a partner and obtaining even more than previously expected value. Kreider, if he is moved, should bring back a hail, seeing what Toffoli netted. A decision may not be made until after the San Jose game with the team still on playoff contention. However, as noted by Brooks yesterday, progress between Kreider’s agent and the team has come at a glacier like pace, meaning that no deal is imminent but also that talks haven’t fully broken down. The next six days will be very topsy-turvy, but we have become used to this by now here in New York. Settle in for the ride.
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