The Rangers may be going to the well again … the one that existed in Tampa Bay in 2004 which the Blueshirts like to dip into now and again and out of which they secured John Tortorella, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis.
Now, the potential target is impending free agent defenseman Dan Boyle, whose rights are owned for the next few days by the Islanders by way of a postseason deal with San Jose. The Rangers, The Post has confirmed, were in touch with Boyle’s agent on Wednesday, the first day of the “interview period” leading into the July 1 opening of the free agent market.
The Blueshirts would have interest in Boyle, known throughout his career as an offensive weapon at both even-strength and from the power play point, if general manager Glen Sather is unable to lock up Anton Stralman, their own impending free agent right defenseman, to a multi-year deal in the neighborhood of $4 million per year.
As of early Wednesday evening, by which time the Rangers’ front office contingent had descended on Philadelphia in advance of the Entry Draft that will be conducted on Friday (first round) and Saturday, Stralman was believed to be scouring the market.
The fact marginal NHL defenseman Nikita Nikitin was able to score a two-year deal from the Oilers worth $4.5 million per season following a rights trade from Columbus does not bode especially well for the Blueshirts’ attempt to get Stralman at close to their number, though Nikitin was able to get only two years and had to sign in Edmonton to get it.
In signing a six-year deal worth $5.8 million per with the Lightning on Wednesday, Ryan Callahan, triggered a clause in the trade agreement under which the Blueshirts will get Tampa Bay’s second-rounder next year while yielding their seventh in 2015 — and what became first-round picks this year and next year.
Coach Alain Vigneault is very particular about being able to construct three left-right defense pairs. The Blueshirts own the rights to three lefties (Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and John Moore) and two righties (Dan Girardi, Kevin Klein). As a righty who can skate, Boyle would presumably be able to slide in for Stralman on Staal’s right side.
But Boyle is going to be 38 next month and is coming off statistically his worst season since 2001-02. Boyle’s secondary numbers in terms of possession and relative plus-minus were among the worst on the Sharks last season, his relative even-strength goals for/against by far the poorest of San Jose’s defensemen.
And while the Rangers would be interested in giving Boyle — who suffered a concussion in October from which he had lingering symptoms for at least three months, according to an interview he gave last season — a one-year, over 35 contract loaded with bonuses that can be deferred against the cap until 2015-16, it appears as if the defenseman is seeking a two-year deal and at a price higher than the $4 million the Blueshirts have essentially set aside to fill the slot that belonged to Stralman.
The Rangers are in a cap squeeze with little room to maneuver, which is why any and all buyers must be wary of reports that the club is in on a premier free agent such as Colorado center Paul Stastny. A well-placed source has told The Post that the Blueshirts have neither inquired about Stastny nor are expected to do so. They simply do not have the space to make such a conversation worthwhile.
Callahan’s signing with the Lightning completes the deadline swap of captains with Tampa Bay. The winger signed with the Lightning for less than his camp ever demanded from the Rangers (the start price was seven years at approximately $6.75 million per year that belatedly was reduced to six years at $6 million per year after it had become too late), though the absence of state tax in Florida at least balances that scale.