As the NHL offseason begins in New York, the Rangers have five players headed toward unrestricted free agency and two entering restricted free agency.
Restricted free agents K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere will be negotiating their second NHL contracts in the coming months, which will likely be the most pressing order of business for Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury to address.
The two have been an integral part of the Rangers’ core since they both made their NHL debuts during the 2020-21 season.
Miller, who was drafted 22nd-overall in 2018, is an impactful top-four blueliner who has taken strides on both sides of the puck each season, while Lafreniere, the first-overall pick in the 2020 draft, has been more of a slow burner.
“Thankfully, I have an agent right now,” Miller said. “So let him go to do his job there and I’ll try to just do my job and focus on hockey, get in the gym again and get back feeling good for next year.”
Lafreniere said his contract situation has been on his mind a little bit, but that he obviously wants to return to the Rangers and “hopefully get something done soon.”
It’s likely that both skaters will be presented with bridge deals, especially under the Rangers’ current cap situation.
The UFA who is most likely to return is forward Tyler Motte, who sounded extremely pleased with how his exit interview went with Drury on Wednesday.
After failing to come to an agreement at the end of last season, Motte signed with Ottawa only for Drury to reacquire the feisty fourth-liner before this year’s trade deadline once again.
He was able to stay healthy for the most part this time around and ended up chipping in five goals and five assists in 24 games for the Rangers.
“Absolutely [I want to be back here],” he said. “Comfortable second time around here, for sure. Love this city, love this group.”
The Rangers probably wish they had more cap space to work with in order to ensure they can retain both Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola.
There is a world where Tarasenko could take a pay cut to remain with the Rangers, but the club may not have the financial ability to do so with Miller and Lafreniere also needing contracts.
Tarasenko spoke glowingly of his time in New York, saying that it is a place he would want to return to.
Mikkola may have been a sweetener in the Rangers’ deal for Tarasenko, but he turned out to be the most valuable deadline addition in wake of Ryan Lindgren’s shoulder injury toward the end of the season.
The towering Finn was thrust into a top-four role, playing alongside Adam Fox, when he was brought in to be a third-pair D-man.
It’s likely that he will receive some strong offers for his services around the NHL.
“You don’t get too many chances to play with a Norris Trophy winner,” he said. “I enjoyed every moment.”
Lindgren said his shoulder is still a little banged up, but no offseason surgery is in store.
Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko and Czech center Filip Chytil plan to compete for their respective countries at this year’s World Championships.
The Rangers assigned Louis Domingue, Libor Hajek, Jake Leschyshyn and Jonny Brodzinski back to AHL Hartford for the Wolf Pack’s playoff run.
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