Carl Hagelin cashed in on his first two NHL seasons, the restricted free agent left wing signing a two-year deal with the Rangers for a sum of $4.5 million.
The Rangers also signed defenseman Justin Falk, obtained at the Entry Draft from Minnesota, to a one-year contract worth $975,000.
This leaves the club with between $4-and-5 million of cap space to sign Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello, the two remaining unsigned Group II free agents.
While there is a cushion of an additional $6.43M built into the summer that would allow the club to spend more than $5M if necessary, the Blueshirts are attempting to operate under the constraints of the season cap.
Roster decisions coming out of training camp will be complicated by the projected opening two-to-three week absences of both Hagelin and Ryan Callahan, each of whom underwent labrum surgery following the playoffs.
Hagelin, who will turn 25 next month, recorded 24 points (10-14) in 48 games last year but scored just three goals in the final 29 matches playing primarily on the Rangers’ top line with Stepan and Callahan.
Zuccarello owns salary arbitration rights, for which the filing deadline is today. Stepan does not. If Zuccarello files, he would be bound to play in the NHL and thus ineligible to sign with a European club.
A change in the CBA stipulates that clubs now have the right to walk away from arbitration awards only of at least $3.5 Million. Zuccarello, whose stats make for a less than compelling case (11-23=34 in 67 NHL games over three seasons) is probably in the $1.25-$1.5M range.
Falk’s $975,000 is somewhat pricey for a player who ranks seventh on the blue line depth chart behind Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal, Anton Stralman, Michael Del Zotto and John Moore.