Break up the NHL Eastern Conference champions? You betcha, for the combination of free agency and life in a restrictive hard-cap world will ensure the Rangers’ 2014-15 team photo will look significantly different from the one that was snapped during the Stanley Cup finals.
At least five, and perhaps six, of the 18 skaters who competed against the Kings in the elimination Game 5 double-overtime defeat in LA on June 13 were all but gone on the eve of Tuesday’s opening of the free-agent market, with Brad Richards (buyout) and Derek Dorsett (trade to Vancouver) already out of the picture.
Second-pair right defenseman Anton Stralman, second-line winger Benoit Pouliot and fourth-line winger Brian Boyle all are likely to be receiving their mail at new addresses following a lead-in to free agency during which management concluded the market would be too rich in these cases for the club’s liking.
The Blueshirts, who have serious cap issues exacerbated by the NHLPA’s decision to reject an increase to $71 million and instead settle on a $69 million ceiling in order to potentially save a percentage point or two of escrow, would thus be looking to add a handful of replacement parts when the bell rings at noon.
The Rangers were attempting on Monday to hammer out a deal to keep prospective free agent Dominic Moore off the market and on Broadway. The fourth-line engine was seeking a three-year contract in the neighborhood of $1.7 million per while the Blueshirts were believed to be more interested in a two-year deal for slightly less money per.
Boyle, who is honeymooning, told The Post by text on Monday he was surprised to have not received an offer from the club. Sources reported Boyle’s camp had initially requested a deal he apparently can get elsewhere but is well beyond the Rangers’ reach.
Similarly, The Post has been told that anticipated available deals for Stralman and Pouliot have priced them out of the Rangers’ reach, even though Pouliot’s camp hadn’t closed the door on a return as of Monday evening.
“So far,” No. 67’s agent, Kent Hughes, told The Post via text when asked if it appeared his client would test the market.
A league source said the Penguins are expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Pouliot, who emerged as one of the Blueshirts’ most productive forwards during the second half of the season on the line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.
The Rangers have committed approximately $45.8 million of the $69 million cap to 10 players currently under contract, thus leaving a tad over $23 million with which to sign restricted free agents Brassard, Zuccarello, Chris Kreider and John Moore while completing a representative 22- or 23-man roster.
Though the club already has committed approximately $26.14 million to goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Talbot and defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and Kevin Klein, sources told The Post the Rangers were mulling how far to go in order to be in on the auction for Dan Boyle, who would presumably assume Stralman’s second-pair, right-side minutes and Richards’ power-play point time if he indeed does come to New York.
The Blueshirts would have loved to get this Boyle — 38 next month — on a one-year, over-35, bonus-laden deal in order to defer some of the charge to 2015-16, if necessary, but The Post has been told the 2004 Tampa Bay Cup champion is seeking (at least) a two-year deal in the neighborhood of the $5 million per that he is sure to receive.
The question for the Rangers is whether they could possibly go that far and then be able to fill in creditably with what would be a remaining $18 million. The Devils’ Mark Fayne, who played on the right side of the team’s first pair with partner Andy Greene and is believed to be seeking approximately $3 million per, is an alternative.
The Blueshirts, who don’t appear to have a forward in the system capable of filling Pouliot’s spot and, oh boy, could they use one, might be in the mix for reclamation projects Martin Havlat, Ales Hemsky, Dustin Penner and/or Dany Heatley if available at a reasonable price. New Jersey fourth-line winger Ryan Carter has also piqued the club’s interest.