The New York Rangers had missed the playoffs for 7 consecutive seasons prior to the introduction of the salary cap, despite spending boatloads of money and being 75% of the reason the league needed a hard cap in the first place. The struggling (but rich) franchise would find salvation when King Henry Lundqvist arrived on an airplane from Europe. The team made the playoffs 11 times in the next 12 years including 3 trips to the conference final and 1 crack at the Cup. They made another trip to the conference final in 2022. Until recently this was a team that played hardball getting youngsters into cheap bridge deals, with many of those included here.
Glen Sather had his hands on the steering wheel from 2000 to 2015, but before we go crediting his genius for the Rangers playoff success, his autograph is also on some of the league’s worst contracts signed in the cap era. You may want to wait and read the Rangers worst contracts list before anointing his tenure a success. His greatest accomplishment was the acquisition of Lundqvist, and like with Montreal, a great goaltender helped cover up some terrible mistakes. As you can see on their rankings report card below, the team ranks very high in goalie wins, but near the bottom in shots per 60 minutes.
This was originally published in my 2020 book Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other (with a few exceptions). The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here. One thing you won't find here are entry level contracts because they all come from the same cookie cutter and require less skill at the negotiating table.
1. Henrik Lundqvist
Adjusted Cap Hit: $57.3M, $9.6M (avg)
Value Returned: $41.0M, $6.8M (avg)
% Earned: 72%
"I said since Day One that I really like New York”
Henrik Lundqvist was among the NHL’s best goaltenders from the moment he arrived in North America, finishing top 4 in Vezina trophy voting both years of his ELC. For as much as Henrik Lundqvist loves New York, he certainly did not take a hometown discount to remain a Ranger. The Swede was a year away from unrestricted free agency, so retaining him on a long-term deal was going to require an unrestricted price. Glen Sather would make Hank the highest paid goaltender in the league, which he would remain until overtaken by Pekka Rinne in 2013.
They paid for the best and received one of the best, with 6 seasons of double-digit goals saved above average. He was always in the conversation for the Vezina trophy, winning the award in 2012.
2. Igor Shesterkin
Adjusted Cap Hit: $22.9M, $5.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $27.1M, $6.8M (avg)
% Earned: 118%
"'Shesty' is everything for us. He's been unreal. I've only played with him this past year, but the things he's doing, his work ethic off the ice, is just as good as his work ethic on the ice. He's literally our backstop. He's a great leader."
Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin have a lot in common, aside from being young Russian goaltenders in New York. Both were top quality gatekeepers from the moment they arrived in the NHL and signed similar bridge deals after their ELCs (Shesterkin for an extra year and a little more money). Igor posted an impressive .932 SV% in his first 12 games, then wrapped up his ELC with a respectable .916.
Then in year one of this contract, Shesterkin’s 3rd year in the NHL, he posted an incredible .935 SV% and won the Vezina trophy. If that wasn’t enough, he led the Rangers all the way to the conference final with a .929 SV%. This was voted the 3rd best contract in the entire league in my 2022 best contract Twitter poll.
3. Mika Zibanejad
Adjusted Cap Hit: $28.0M, $5.6M (avg)
Value Returned: $43.9M, $8.8M (avg)
% Earned: 156%
"I'm super happy a deal got done. I'm super happy to be staying in New York for the next five years and I'm really, really looking forward to next season."
Mika Zibanejad was seeking a 1-year contract for $5.35M in the summer of 2017 after scoring above a 50-point pace for back-to-back seasons. It was a fair price for his services, but certainly was not a discount. Jeff Gorton countered that the price was fair if it was attached to more term, and the two sides agreed on a 5-year ticket that sold 2 years of unrestricted free agency. This was very similar to the deal the Rangers signed with Derick Brassard a few years earlier, who ironically enough was the main chip heading to Ottawa in the Zibanejad trade. More recently Jonathan Drouin and Brayden Schenn had agreed to similar terms.
Year one of this accord was decidedly mediocre, but by the 2nd season Mika evolved into a higher-level point producer, potting 30 goals and 74 PTS. By year three when Artemi Panarin came to town, Zibanejad scored at a 108-point pace while missing some time due to injury (and he didn’t even play with Artemi 5v5). He became criminally underpaid.
4. Adam Fox
Adjusted Cap Hit: $66.6M, $9.5M (avg)
Value Returned: $63.3M, $9.0M (avg)
% Earned: 95%
"It has been a privilege for us, and our fans, to watch Adam showcase his ability on a nightly basis, and we are glad to have that opportunity for seven more years."
Adam Fox won the Norris trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman in just his second season when he scored a 70-point pace. That’s a rare distinction that simplifies the negotiating process. It’s hard for the GM to argue that you’re not worth whatever price you’re asking if you’ve won this level of hardware. Fox will undoubtedly receive multiple Norris nominations over the course of these 7 years, maybe even win another if Cale Makar suffers an injury.
This was not a cheap price tag and can’t be considered a “bargain”, but the puck moving blueliner is still worth every penny. Maybe when the salary cap jumps up and other D-men start signing for more, we’ll look at this cap hit with amazement.
5. Ryan McDonagh
Adjusted Cap Hit: $32.8M, $5.5M (avg)
Value Returned: $40.6M, $6.8M (avg)
% Earned: 122%
"As a player, you want to have that security, but you want to make sure the team feels confident in you, and it's great to see the Rangers show the confidence in me as far as the terms and the years and everything together. It's just a great feeling."
Over the last 2 years of Ryan McDonagh’s entry level contract, the young defenseman was 10th in the NHL for total minutes played. He quickly became a workhorse on the Rangers blueline, earning himself a big 6-year commitment from a General Manager who had long shown a preference for squeezing his young RFAs into short-term bridge deals. Ryan negotiated a similar salary as Alex Goligoski one year earlier, but with more term. There would be a chain reaction of comparables following McDonagh, starting with Justin Faulk 8 months later.
The offensive component of Ryan’s game was about to take a big step forward, netting 43 PTS in year one. Not only did he average 42 PTS and 23.3 minutes of ice time over this span, he also finished with a +126 rating. To put a nice cherry on top, he added 38 PTS in 80 playoff games. McDonagh was traded to Tampa with 1-year remaining. Ryan forfeited 3 years of unrestricted free agency, potentially limiting what he would be able to procure when he became UFA at age 30, but fortunately for him, the Lightning handed him $47M.
6. Michal Rozsival
Adjusted Cap Hit: $7.5M, $3.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $14.5M, $7.3M (avg)
% Earned: 196%
"The way we play team defense is what makes our team good defensively and what makes us look good too. You have forwards that are backchecking in good positions and Hank is playing great and that makes our job easier.”
Michal Rozsival went to unrestricted free agency as a 27-year-old right shot defenseman with 319 career games who had just completed a 30-point campaign. The stars should have been aligned for the Czech defender to get paid a higher sum, but instead he went unsigned into August before returning to the Rangers on a cheap 2-year bridge deal. A serious knee injury suffered in 2004 might have scared other teams away from a long-term commitment. Four months earlier, Denis Gauthier had signed a very similar deal after scoring 11 PTS and averaging only 16.5 minutes per game.
While Gauthier was on his way down, Michal was on his way up. He would average over 24 minutes per game of ice time while notching 78 PTS in 160 GP. The Rangers rewarded him with $20M at the end of this, which you can read about on their worst contracts list.
7. Mats Zuccarelo
Adjusted Cap Hit: $20.1M, $5.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $24.2M, $6.1M (avg)
% Earned: 119%
"It's where I want to be. I want to try to win with this team. This feels like home."
Mats Zuccarello was a late bloomer who did not earn a full-time roster spot until age 26 when he broke out with a 59-point season in 2014. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st 2015, but decided to stay in New York before he could reach the open market. It’s unlikely that the Norwegian winger would have been able to solicit much more than this, which was expensive for his most recent stat line. Mats instead received a very similar contract to what Nikolay Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur had signed for in the previous year with weaker statistics.
Zuccarello would become a valuable contributor to the Rangers, averaging 60 PTS per 82 GP and nearly 19 minutes per game of ice time over these 4 years. The Rangers shipped him to Dallas as a rental for conditional 2nd and 3rd round draft picks. Afterwards Paul Fenton stepped up to the plate and gave Mats $30M to come to Minnesota. Fenton was fired shortly thereafter.
8. Dan Girardi
Adjusted Cap Hit: $17.6M, $4.4M (avg)
Value Returned: $26.4M, $6.6M (avg)
% Earned: 148%
"I wanted to stay in New York so bad, and I was really happy that we were able to get something done for a long term. I really wanted to be a Ranger, and I want to be a Ranger forever. I don't want to go anywhere else.”
Dan Girardi still had never surpassed the 30-point threshold in his career, but had been averaging 21.6 minutes per game over the previous 3 seasons when it came time for a new deal in July 2010. Dan could have been an unrestricted free agent in one year, but instead choose to yield 3 UFA seasons when Sather offered him a similar contract to the one signed by his former defense partner Fedor Tyutin 2 years earlier. Dan seemed desperate to stay in New York and was not terribly concerned about rushing to the open market.
Girardi’s role on the Rangers would soon expand, logging heavy minutes in both the regular seasons and playoffs on a very good Rangers team. Dan would average 28 PTS per 82 GP with 24.8 minutes per game of ice time. But buyer beware, there was $33M waiting for him when this deal expired, which you can read about on the Rangers worst contracts list.
9. Brandon Dubinsky
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.3M, $2.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $13.8M, $6.9M (avg)
% Earned: 254%
"There's definitely going to be questions - 'Is he ready to go, because he's missed a week now? Is he fit enough? Will he be prepared to start the season?' They're all valid questions. I've just got to prove I'm prepared."
Brandon Dubinsky had produced back-to-back 40+ point seasons coming out of entry level and went unsigned into training camp the following season. Glen Sather played hardball and won, getting Dubinsky on an even cheaper bridge deal than Ryan Callahan received 2 months earlier. The two had produced similar stat lines, but Dubinsky as a center should have been worth at least the same money, if not more. The biggest difference being that Callahan was a year older.
The Rangers would capture “peak Dubinsky” on this pact, with a career high 24 goals and 54 PTS in year two. Brandon scored 20+ goals both seasons and never breached that milestone again.
10. Artemi Panarin
Adjusted Cap Hit: $82.5M, $11.8M (avg)
Value Returned: $64.1M, $9.2M (avg)
% Earned: 78%
"He loves to score, he loves to win. I think he's going to love everything about playing for the New York Rangers."
Artemi Panarin was the big prize of the summer class of 2019, as the Russian won the lottery following an 87-point season, earning himself the nickname “breadman”. This was by no means a discount or a bargain. No winger had signed for even close to this much money since Patrick Kane 5 years earlier. Nikita Kucherov and Mark Stone were the nearest, earning $2M less in annual salary (although take-home pay will be similar after factoring in state taxes). While several teams were no doubt involved in the bidding, it had long been rumoured that Panarin wanted to play in New York specifically.
While this might have been an expensive price to pay, Artemi proved to be worth every penny in year one, scoring 95 PTS in 69 GP while playing mostly with Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast 5v5. The only lingering question going forward is how well he ages, as more than half of the deal will take place after his 30th birthday. I’m taking a leap of faith that he’ll continue to put bread on the table for the remaining term.
11. Anthony DeAngelo
Adjusted Cap Hit: $0.95M, $0.95M (avg)
Value Returned: $6.5M, $6.5M (avg)
% Earned: 644%
"I always felt comfortable that Tony, his agent and I would make a deal. At the end of the day I think he realized the situation was what it was, it was going to be a one-year deal and that it was probably smart to get in here and start playing.”
Tony DeAngelo wrapped up his entry level contract with a stellar 30-point performance, which should have been worth a contract in the $4M range. But after the Rangers landed Artemi Panarin on July 1st, they were facing a difficult salary cap situation heading into the fall and opted to play hardball. Tony has had a controversial career off the ice, and lacked arbitration rights, which gave him no leverage whatsoever.
The Rangers were deep on the blueline and could afford to have the kid hold out. Luckily for both sides, an agreement was reached on September 20th, allowing him to start the season in the NHL. This was among the lowest payouts any free agent defenseman under the age of 30 has received for a 30-point season.
Anthony proceeded to break out in a big way, scoring 53 PTS in 68 GP. I personally attended a Rangers game during that run, and it seemed like the puck was on DeAngelo’s stick the entire game. He received a significant raise on his next deal, which you can read about on their worst contracts list.
12. Pavel Buchnevich
Adjusted Cap Hit: $6.7M, $3.3M (avg)
Value Returned: $12.9M, $6.4M (avg)
% Earned: 190%
"There’s only so much cap space to go around and there’s only so much ice time to go around.”
In the final year of his ELC, Pavel Buchnevich scored at a 49-point pace that was worth approximately $3.2M according to my algorithm. The Rangers gave him almost exactly what he was worth. In year one he scored at a 55-point pace, in year two ascending even further to 73 PTS per 82 GP. In doing so he was priced out of New York, forcing the team to trade him to St. Louis for Sammy Blais and a 2nd round pick.
The Blues signed Buchnevich to a 4-year deal at a $5.8M cap hit, and even that proven to be a bargain when was a point per game player his first year in St. Louis.
13. Ryan Strome
Adjusted Cap Hit: $9.2M, $4.6M (avg)
Value Returned: $13.5M, $6.8M (avg)
% Earned: 146%
"With Ryan Spooner kind of being the odd man out on our team, and the opportunity to get somebody that we like his versatility”
The Rangers signed hot new prospect Ryan Spooner to an expensive new contract (which you can read about on their worst contracts list) when the kid had a disastrously slow start to the next season, with 2 PTS in 16 GP. Ryan Strome was similarly underachieving in Edmonton, so the teams did a bad contract swap. But while Spooner was playing in the KHL before his contract was supposed to have ended, Strome would thrive in New York when paired with Artemi Panarin.
Strome’s 2020 stat line carried an expected value of $7.3M but they got him at $4.5M. I was not present for contract negotiations, but I’m sure there had to be acknowledgement that much of that output was Panarin dependent. Part of the reason this contract is even here is because Strome continued playing with Panarin and outperforming his pay grade. Maybe Artemi deserves all the credit for this being such a bargain?
14. Derek Stepan
Adjusted Cap Hit: $7.7M, $3.9M (avg)
Value Returned: $12.8M, $6.4M (avg)
% Earned: 162%
"I don't think he is a big enough fool to think that he will sit out the year and it will do any good. He is in a gap contract and every one of our players has signed a gap contract.”
Derek Stepan became a full-time NHL player immediately after leaving college, bypassing the AHL experience completely, scoring 21 goals and 45 PTS as a rookie. The young center was very nearly a point per game player during the lockout shortened 2013 season, and should have been worth substantially more money than what he eventually settled for. It was not easy to get done, as he went unsigned until late September.
Glen Sather made scathing comments in the media, telling the world that Derek would be a fool not to sign the “gap contract” they’d put in front of him, that all his previous teammates had been forced to agreed to take before. Derek signed shortly thereafter.
It became yet another bargain bridge for the blueshirts, with Stepan scoring 61 PTS per 82 GP and averaging 18.1 minutes of ice time working both power play and penalty kill. It all worked out in the end, as Derek banked $39M on his next pay day.
15. J.T Miller
Adjusted Cap Hit: $6.2M, $3.1M (avg)
Value Returned: $11.7M, $5.8M (avg)
% Earned: 184%
“J.T. Miller is 24, two years away from being an unrestricted free agent. We feel with the addition of these players, with our core, that we've given ourselves a better opportunity to win a Stanley Cup.”
J.T Miller scored 22 goals and 41 PTS during his first full NHL season in 2016, but still had not accomplished enough to command a more expensive price. He would avoid arbitration by signing ostensibly the same contract that Tomas Hertl had 2 weeks earlier.
J.T’s point production and ice time would continue to grow until eventually he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Ryan McDonagh for a package of prospects and draft picks. Miller finished that season strongly and earned himself a $26.3M pay day courtesy of Steve Yzerman, but did not last much longer in Tampa.
16. Fedor Tyutin
Adjusted Cap Hit: $16.1M, $4.0M (avg)
Value Returned: $24.2M, $6.0M (avg)
% Earned: 148%
"What can I say? I'm happy to be coming to Columbus"
In the 3 seasons following the 2005 lockout, Fedor Tyutin had been reliably averaging 21-points per season and 20 minutes per game. Glen Sather signed him to an early extension in February with similar terms to what Anton Volchenkov had agreed to 1-year earlier. But before the Russian defenseman could play a single game for the Rangers under this deal, he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nikolay Zherdev.
Once in Ohio, Tyutin elevated to an even higher level, averaging 32 PTS per 82 GP with 23.4 minutes per game of ice time. You can read about his next deal on the Blue Jackets worst contracts list. The Rangers would eventually give Fedor’s defense partner Dan Girardi a similar 4-year deal two years later, but for a marginally more money.
17. Vinny Prospal
Adjusted Cap Hit: $1.7M, $1.7M (avg)
Value Returned: $7.5M, $7.5M (avg)
% Earned: 436%
Vinny Prospal had a significant drop in production at age 33 with Tampa, dropping from 71 PTS down to 45. This regression meant taking a $2.35M pay cut to join the New York Rangers, and subsequently bounced back to 63 PTS per 82 GP, not quite reaching the previous heights, but still significantly outperforming his pay grade. The Rangers rewarded him with another 1-year contract and doubling his salary, but he missed a majority of that season with injury. He played another 2 years after that with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
18. Kevin Hayes
Adjusted Cap Hit: $5.9M, $2.9M (avg)
Value Returned: $10.1M, $5.0M (avg)
% Earned: 168%
“In Kevin’s case, I think we made it clear our expectations about him and what we felt he could do were very high. Obviously, he hasn’t lived up to that. Did we overestimate his possibilities? I don’t know, time will tell.”
Kevin Hayes arrived in New York to thunderous applause when he chose the Big Apple as a college free agent, but head coach Alain Vigneault may have set his expectations too high. Hayes would score 81 PTS in his first 158 GP, but often found himself in the coach’s dog house with healthy scratches and scathing comments to the media. Hayes decided to avoid a bitter arbitration fight and signed a new 2-year bridge deal very close to what J.T Miller had signed for a week earlier.
Kevin immediately started to get greater deployment, which helped boost his offensive production, scoring 17 goals and 49 PTS in year one. They were never able to get his signature on a long-term deal, as he followed this up with a 1-year bridge to unrestricted free agency and was traded to Winnipeg.
19. Mats Zuccarello
Adjusted Cap Hit: $1.5M, $1.5M (avg)
Value Returned: $6.1M, $6.1M (avg)
% Earned: 384%
Mats Zuccarello still had not played a full season in the NHL when they gave him this 1-year “prove it” deal, but scored a respectable 34 PTS in 67 GP spread across 3 years. They made him a full-time NHLer, and the young winger produced 59 PTS while averaging over 17 minutes of ice time per game. The Rangers never did give him a long-term contract, going with another 1-year term after this one at triple the salary. He was also a very effective producer at even strength, and wasn’t dependent on power play time to get his points.
20. Antti Raanta
Adjusted Cap Hit: $2.4M, $1.2M (avg)
Value Returned: $6.7M, $3.3M (avg)
% Earned: 275%
"Everyone wants these things done sooner rather than later but it's a business. We'll see."
Antti Raanta had only accumulated 64 games of NHL experience living in the shadow of Henrik Lundqvist, and was scheduled to become UFA on July 1st 2016. Antti decided he wanted to stay in New York, inking a 2-year extension (similar to Al Montoya 2 years earlier). At this point it was in Antti’s best interest to find a city where he’d have the best chance of getting starts, and King Henry was starting to get old.
After posting another solid season as Hank’s back-up, Raanta was traded to the Arizona Coyotes with Derek Stepan for Tony DeAngelo and a 1st round draft pick. He was fabulous for the Coyotes, posting a .930 SV% in 47 games.