There is no doubt that the New York
Rangers being unable to buy out Chris Drury from the final season of his
contract complicates what the team will do this summer. The rising NHL salary cap, and allowance to
be 10% over whatever the final cap number is will certainly help the Rangers to
some extent. The reason the help will
not be significantly large is because Wade Redden’s contract will be back on
the book and soak up the allowed overage.
Having to carry the full $7.05 million
of Drury’s contract is certainly painful this summer, but those who are looking
at the full amount have to remember they were going to have to carry $3.716
next season anyway. The real difference
between what the Rangers will now have to spend this summer and what they would
have had if the Drury buy out had been possible is $3.33 million.
While buying out Wojtek Wolski appears
to be the popular response, other than Drury retiring, to the Drury news this
morning, Jesse Spector of the New
York Daily News floats another potential move the Rangers could make.
With the players they currently have on their roster, including Wade Redden, the Rangers should be a little over $55 million on the summer cap once they make qualifying offers to their restricted free agents. With the 2011-12 cap expected to be between $60-63 million, and the summer cap 10% higher than that, the Rangers would have room to operate.
The complication in that scenario would be that if the Rangers were to make a big-money acquisition (read: Brad Richards), they would be hamstrung with regard to actually re-signing their restricted free agents. Brandon Dubinsky, for instance, is not going to sign a contract for his qualifying offer of $2 million – getting a deal done might have to wait until the Rangers can get Drury to long-term injured reserve, and Redden back off the cap in the AHL (or with some other solution). Other teams might be able to force the Rangers into a difficult spot by signing their restricted free agents to offer sheets, but that practice has become quite uncommon in the NHL.
As Jesse points out, the team
is required to carry their qualifying offers against the summer cap. The total of the qualifying offers per Cap Geek for
Callahan, Dubinsky, Boyle, Anisimov and Sauer the total is $6.36 million. Any of those players who signs a contract for
next season has the full amount of their deal added to the cap for next season,
but until they do only the qualifying offer counts. Attempting to wait until they can move Redden
to the AHL at the start of training camp is a dangerous move because of offer
sheet possibilities, but still an option to be considered.
Also, combining the thought of waiting
on signing a restricted free agent and the potential of triggering a second buy
out window by taking any of the restricted free agents to arbitration would
give the Rangers more time to decide on buying out Wolski if it is the final
option.
The move to buy out Wolski is the most
commonly thought of right now because of the large cap savings and his somewhat
disappointing play in New York. There
are other options to think about though and if they do have to buy him out it
creates another spot on the roster that has to be filled by a contract. The whole conversation would obviously be moot
if Drury retired and saved the Rangers the full $7.05 million and/or the
Rangers do not sign Brad Richards.
