What Will The Rangers Do With All This Extra Cap Space In Free Agency?

About TMR

I've played hockey my entire life and have always been a die hard Rangers fan. Now that I'm done chasing the dream, I play in a few beer leagues but it just isn't the same as the glory days. I started this blog a little over a year ago and it has since evolved into something I really enjoy. Do I one day aspire to be a professional sports writer? Possibly. My dream job is being a general manager of a professional hockey team. My mood is hopelessly attached to whether the Rangers win or lose on a given night. I despise Sidney Crosby, loathe Martin Brodeur, and think Ricky Dipietro uses more hair products than any man should ever use. My name is Ryan McFadden and I am the editor of The Manic Ranger blog. Be sure to comment whether you like what I have to say or not. I can be reached by e-mail at tmrangerblog (at) gmail.com

Written by Ryan McFadden

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:15

.. hopefully not repeat the summer of 2007 when they signed Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to lucrative/idiotic contracts. It's great that the Rangers shed a bad contract and are not choked against the cap as they were this morning. Although they still have two bad contracts in Drury and Redden. Although there are some talented scorers available tomorrow, none of the big name players make sense for the Rangers.

Martin Havlat has a shoulder that is a ticking time bomb. He managed to stay healthy in his contract year - shocker - but is still a health risk. He also is not a primary scorer and the $5-$6.5 million contract he will receive is too much to spend on him. Marian Hossa is a great player, but once again he is not a player the Rangers should sign. He is seeking a big payday and might just goto the highest bidder after he gambled and lost badly in Detroit. Hossa is not a player who can dominate a game by himself and his disappearing act in the playoffs that rivals the Rangers own Nik Zherdev should be a warning flag. Mike Cammalleri is a great player, but he's undersized and although he had a great season last year, there's no reason to jump into bed with a large contract for an undersized player.

Marian Gaborik could make sense for the Rangers if he accepts a short term deal and unless he really wants to play in New York that won't happen. Gaborik is a pure scorer who can create scoring opportunities for himself and most importantly consistently finish. He is exactly the kind of player the Rangers need, but not the player the Rangers need. Gabby is going to look for the biggest and the longest contract he can find. There will be no 'one year deal and prove you can stay healthy' kind of contract for him. It would be a big mistake to invest a lot of money in Gaborik.

Either the Rangers sweeten a deal for Dany Heatley or they do nothing big at all in free agency. If they're serious about letting the kids play they will do just that. There is no need to spend big and grossly overpay in free agency once again. Even though Sather pulled off a great deal to rid Gomez from Broadway, Rangers fans should be very nervous that he has so much freed up salary to play with. The door is wide open for Sather to make yet another grand mistake on the open market.

If Heatley can't be had and Gaborik doesn't sign a one year deal, the Rangers should stand pat and pull a page out of the Knicks playbook. Keep the cap space and pursue Ilya Kovalchuk next summer when he becomes a free agent. The Rangers can't solve all their problems in one free agency. They tried to do so the past two summers and have failed miserably.