Oh, how the mighty have fallen. One year ago, the New York Rangers were on top of the NHL world, having secured the President's Trophy. They had talented scorers, solid defenders, and one of the best goalies in the game. Despite an earlier exit than they had hoped in the playoffs, expectations were high. They were still considered to be one of the top teams for the Eastern Conference and a likely candidate to be its representative in the Stanley Cup Finals.
At this time last year, Rangers fans still had a lot to look forward to. This year, not so much. Besides the fact that they missed the playoffs entirely, the team is in turmoil. They may lose their best player, Chris Kreider. More importantly, they are in deep financial trouble.
The salary cap is expected to rise to $95 million this year. For a team with a lot of cash, like the Flyers, that's pretty great news. For the Rangers, that's not going to help much. You see, they are already committed to 19 players next season. That will cost them just over $87 million.
If you can do the math, you can see that leaves about $8 million left to go. Oh yeah, they also have 11 RFAs to sign. At their current state, they can't possibly sign them all. On average, that is less than $1 million per player. That's quite a predicament.
How this benefits the Flyers
First of all, there are some veteran players, like Kreider, who could be acquired via trade. If you don't want him (or can't get him), there are others too. Perhaps Vincent Trochek, Alex Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad, or Artemi Panarin are more your type. First of all, I'd rather have Zibanejad scoring for us than on us any day of the week. Panarin on a line with Michkov would be outstanding. Trochek could be the kind of center that Rick Tocchet would love to employ.
The Flyers could make a trade for them. The more salary Daniel Briere is willing to eat up, the less he'd have to give back to the Rangers. And for a team that doesn't have a lot of draft picks over the next few years, they might just have to take some mid-level picks.
However, if you want to go younger, snag one of their RFAs. Arthur Kaliyev isn't a bad young player, but is probably a better bottom-six guy. Will Cuylle scored 20 goals this year as a left wing and could be a great complement to Michkov or Owen Tippett. Matt Rempe would be a lot of fun here in Philly, but it is best to leave him out.
On defense, the prize is K'Andre Miller. Miller had 27 points this season, can hit, block, and is a nifty puck stealer (47 steals). He's going to want a big paycheck, and the Rangers might not be able to match what you offer. Likewise, Zach Jones is an up-and-coming, solid defender.
Earlier this offseason, Ariel Melendez suggested using the restricted free agency trick to acquire some players from the equally cash-strapped Toronto Maple Leafs. They have some great free agents (Mitch Marner, John Tavares) they want to keep in house, and, as a consequence, they might not be able to hold onto some valuable younger players, or they will be forced to choose between the young players and older vets.
The Rangers are in a similar bind. They have some very valuable players who are young, both on offense and defense, who could become the core of a solid team for years to come. They also have fan favorite all-stars who own salaries that are holding this team back. Either they will have to choose the future or the present. And to be fair, both options are loaded with talent, but come with dire consequences.
Because of this, the Flyers should take advantage. First, it's always great to bring down a rival as strong and deep as the Rangers are. How satisfying would it be to see Miller setting up a transitional goal to Travis Konecny or see Zibanejad joining Michkov and Jett Luchanko in celebration after a goal? You can't tell me that doesn't bring a smile to your face.
The Flyers have lots of options this year. The Rangers have few. Either they will have to overpay for some RFAs and lose some stars, or be forced to lose their young players while they hold on to an aging corps. I would offer both Miller and Cuylle contracts worth $5 million and see how the Rangers respond. Stealing two players of that caliber from a divisional rival would be extra sweet.