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Goodrow signing official, blueline options, schedule released, draft today

July 23, 2021, 12:14 AM ET [1061 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers officially inked Barclay Goodrow to a six-year contract, as was rumored a few days ago. New York has yet to acquire a left-handed defenseman, though that is still a need. In addition, the NHL released their season schedule and the league has a warped sense of humor as the Blueshirts will open on October 13 against the Capitals. Last, as of press time, the Blueshirts still had their first round pick, 15th overall.

Goodrow:
Most of us are not happy with the term, or the deal structure, or the 15-team NTC or the AAV, but that still doesn;t mean it was a bad signing. Six years is far from ideal and the $3.65mil AAV is maybe $500-600k more per year than we would like. In addition, as seen below, the spikes in year 3-4 and the salary in year 5 may make it harder to trade him than one would have liked, though as pointed out in the blog comments, enables a buyout if one is needed. But the player adds a component lacking on this team. In addition, it's a start, not the end, so Goodrow alone only moves the needle slightly.

Fans clamored for a team with direction and identity, especially from the bottom-six. Goodrow brings the style of play the Rangers need from that unit. You can't complain and rail that the Rangers lack x quotient, then when they bring that aspect in - it's oh my god the sky is falling. A physical difference maker has been lacking on the team for a while. The contract is far from perfect, but let's acknowledge what Goodrow does bring to the table and recognize that the team construction is far from complete before we start railing.

Larry Brooks projects Goodrow to center the third line. who his wingers will be remains to be seen. Kevin Rooney should center the fourth line. Can Morgan Barron fill a wing on one of those two lines? If constructing a puzzle, each piece must fit together. While NY has added the center square, the block around it remains open and requires the right matches for the unit to be effective. As Brooks added: "Now management must make the commitment to build a unit around the new man and put him in a position in which he can make the most impact. If not, if the idea is to just throw him onto a line with, say, Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil, (which would be a solid line but not one made of the parts to be the type of third line desired) the Rangers might just as well have given the money to me."



Blueline
So Marc Giordano is clearly not happening. Vince Dunn may be a long shot and Carson Soucy is also still in Seattle. New York may need to pivot, but to where? Alec Martinez (yes, I spit when I typed that) is likely too pricey. Ryan Suter looks to be headed elsewhere. David Savard would be nice, but his skill set and playoff performance has probably raised his cost beyond where New York can and wants to go, especially if the team wants a short-term deal. Same probably for Jake McCabe, even coming off a major injury. Brandon Montour will receive a lot of interest. Given how Keith Yandle's first tour went, don't think a repeat trip is in the cards, but anything is possible. Do Jason Demers, Barndon Montour or that ilk excite you? What about Mike Reilly or Alex Goligoski, both of whom fit better on the third-pair? Brendan Smith won;t be back, and he would have just been a depth defenseman.

Cash and term are kings here, in addition to of course talent. As Brooks noted, the possible pending cap crunch or need to maintain room is one reason why Pavel Buchnevich is being shipped. His potential cap hit probably starts with a 5 as the first digit, which is why he has been rumored to be on the block. It's also why overspending for more than a year on a blueliner may not be in the cards, which is why Gio was a good fit, same with Soucy, as opposed to Dunn, since he would want a longer term deal.

Figuring $15.5M combined for Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, plus $11.64M for Artemi Panarin, $6.5M for Kreider, $8.0M for Jacob Trouba, $3.0M for Ryan Lindgren and $3.642M for Goodrow, that amounts to just under $48.29M for seven players. The Rangers would thus have around $34M if the cap goes to $82.5M to sign another 15 players — including a first- and second-line center with Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome free agents after the season. There is no room for another $5.5M-$6.0M winger with second contracts coming up for Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. No room, then, for Buchnevich




Rangers schedule:






Per the schedule press release:
The Blueshirts will play their first all-time game against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, Oct. 31 at Seattle. In addition, New York will host Seattle for the first time on Sunday, Jan. 30 at MSG. The Blueshirts will play nine of their first 12 games this season, as well as 14 of their first 21 games this season, on the road. The Rangers will conclude the season with 10 of their final 14 games at MSG (and with their four road games during the stretch at New Jersey, Philadelphia, NY Islanders, and Boston).


Overview highlights:
- the #NYR play Seattle for the first time on Halloween
- @ BOS on 11/26 for Black Friday, which has become somewhat of a tradition, though they may not be on national TV
- Play @ TBL on New Year's Eve 12/31 (another tradition game date leading into the StL/Min Winter Classic
- Finish the regular season at home vs. WSH on 4/29 (bookending the start of the season versus the Capitals)

NHL Draft
The first round pick is believed to be in play. Some speculation is that the Rangers were looking to obtain another pick and package the 15 and that pick to move into the top-10 and deal that selection or just the #15 overall to Buffalo as part of the package for Jack Eichel. Another option is to move the pick for an asset that would help the team now.

As of now, the Rangers have one first-round pick, two third-rounders, three in the fourth round and one in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. The second rounder was moved in the trade to offload Marc Staal's contract to Detroit. If they keep the pick, my first target would be Cole Sillinger, but don't know if he will make it to 15. Same with Matthew Coronato. The wild card is Aatu Raty, who has slipped and might allow New York to trade down and add another pick if they don't move the selection. Russian Fyodor Svechkov is who I selected in our mock draft and one who I think would be a great fit.

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