The issues that lie in front of Rangers general manager Glen Sather this summer are plentiful, and it all starts with the fact he has to shell out a lot of money at a time when the salary cap is coming down.
By watching the spending limit drop from $70.2 million to $64.3 million next season, Sather has to find a way to wrap up three of the most important players on his roster, all of whom are restricted free agents.
That list is absolutely topped by 23-year-old defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who has completed his entry-level contract and spent the whole of this postseason getting effusive praise heaped on him.
“As I’ve always said about Ryan, if he makes a mistake, it does not affect him,” said coach John Tortorella, who also began using the shutdown blueliner in more offensive situations, including the power play. “It doesn’t take him five shifts to get it back. He’s ready to go the next shift and I think that’s part of the intangible that he has, a mental toughness. I think he is one of the best of that on our team.”
VOTE: WHO SHOULD THE RANGERS BRING BACK?
Although Sather often likes to give two-year “bridge deals” to restricted free agents — like the two-year, $5.1 million contract he barely got done for defenseman Michael Del Zotto before this season began — a longer and more lucrative deal might be in the works for McDonagh.
After him comes top center Derek Stepan and speedy winger Carl Hagelin. Closely following the top three is Mats Zuccarello, also a restricted free agent.
* More money would be available if Sather uses his second and final amnesty buyout on center Brad Richards, who is owed $6.67 million per year through 2019-20. The 33-year-old winner of the 2004 Conn Smythe Award had his game fall of so precipitously, he was a healthy scratch for the final two games of the playoffs.
* On the unrestricted free-agent front, the biggest question will be forward Ryane Clowe. Obtained mid-season in a trade with the Sharks, Clowe made $3.625 million this season and it would be logical to think he’s looking for at least that much next season.
The 30-year-old was presumed to suffer two consecutive concussions that kept him out of all but two playoff games.
In the aftermath of Game 5, Tortorella inexplicably compared him to Bruins power forward extraordinaire Milan Lucic.
* Don’t look now, but after next season the unrestricted free agents are Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist. … Defensemen Steve Eminger and Matt Gilroy are both unrestricted free agents. Odds are Eminger will get at least a one-year offer, and it’s likely Gilroy will be gone.