The New York Rangers were busy making offseason moves even before the Stanley Cup Final ended.<\/p>\n
Team president and general manager Chris Drury traded away veteran Chris Kreider last week, and he\u2019s started making headway on his restricted free agents, signing Matt Rempe, Juuso P\u00e4rssinen and Matthew Robertson in recent days. New York is likely to remain active this summer as it seeks to improve on a disappointing 2024-25 season<\/a>.<\/p>\n What comes next as we head into draft week and the start of free agency on July 1? Here are some tidbits from speaking with sources around the league:<\/p>\n \u2022 The Rangers and restricted free agent Will Cuylle\u2019s camp have been in talks. Signing him has to be one of New York\u2019s most significant priorities this summer. He\u2019s 23 and is coming off a 45-point season, all while bringing a level of physicality and edge that matches what Drury wants his team to have.<\/p>\n AFP Analytics projects a three-year deal for Cuylle with an average annual value of $3.435 million. Evolving-Hockey has a similar projection: three years, $3.195 million. If New York were to try to extend Cuylle on a longer-term deal, the AAV would have to go up.<\/p>\n The chances of Cuylle receiving an offer sheet presumably decreased after the Kreider trade. Part of New York\u2019s reason for moving the veteran winger was to create cap flexibility in case another team presented one of its restricted free agents with a compelling offer sheet.<\/p>\n When the St. Louis Blues signed Edmonton Oilers restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway last summer, Edmonton was in a tight salary cap situation that made it hard for them to match. The Oilers let both walk in exchange for the draft compensation that comes with losing a restricted free agent in specific salary ranges.<\/p>\n Teams generally only use offer sheets when they believe there\u2019s a legitimate chance of getting a player. Currently, the Rangers\u2019 added cap space can serve as a safeguard. To continue having that protection, they\u2019ll need to either get a Cuylle extension done or set aside enough cap space through free agency to make sure they can match a potential offer sheet. That way, a team won\u2019t be able to catch them in a vulnerable spot as the Blues did with Edmonton.<\/p>\n \u2022 New York still has to decide what to do with its first-round pick in next week\u2019s draft. The Rangers owe either this year\u2019s first-rounder (No. 12) or their 2026 first to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins got the pick from the Vancouver Canucks, who received it from the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade.<\/p>\n There has been considerable league-wide discussion about offer sheets in the wake of the Blues\u2019 success with Broberg and Holloway. Colleagues Michael Russo and Chris Johnston wrote a good story about it in April<\/a>. If the Rangers decide to use this year\u2019s pick, you can write off any possibility of the team getting involved in the offer sheet game. To sign a player to an offer sheet in the $4.68 million to $7.02 million range this summer, a team must have its own 2026 first- and third-round picks, which would go to the RFA\u2019s former team if it doesn\u2019t match the contract.<\/p>\n Should New York draft at No. 12 next week, it won\u2019t have the required first to take a big swing. The Rangers also don\u2019t have their 2026 second-round pick, eliminating the possibility of them trying to sign someone in the AAV bracket below.<\/p>\n The Rangers would keep the offer sheet possibility open if they forfeit their 2025 first-round pick, but they might also not have the cap space needed to sign someone in that salary range, especially if they don\u2019t move out any other contracts. There\u2019s a reason offer sheets aren\u2019t standard: They\u2019re hard to pull off.<\/p>\n The deadline to decide on the draft pick is 48 hours before the draft, which is at 7 p.m. (ET) Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Rangers have been exploring the trade market for K\u2019Andre Miller, as they were during the regular season, per league sources.<\/p>\n