The Rangers are showing up to the Free Agency Casino without the necessary funds to really play with.
Instead of gambling on big-name players at the high-stakes poker table with the teams that have extra cash to spare, the Blueshirts are likely to be relegated to the slot machines, where they will pull the lever and wait for the right bargain-bin skaters to pop up in a perfect alignment and fit under their cap.
This is news to no one, especially Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury, who operated under the same suffocating cap restraints this past season.
The Rangers already have a strong hand to play with their core players, so this offseason is once again about picking up cards that are going to get the team as close to that Royal Flush as possible.
As the clock strikes noon on Saturday and the free-agency window opens, one-time Rangers Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaroslav Halak and Niko Mikkola will all hit the market.
Two-time Ranger Tyler Motte also will become available.
Kane and Tarasenko are aces the Rangers simply were never going to be able to afford unless they unload a big contract, which is difficult to do thanks to all the no-trade clauses included in almost all of the organization’s long-term deals.
Barclay Goodrow could be trade bait, since the six-year deal he signed with the Rangers only has a modified no-trade clause with a 15-team no-trade list.
The deadline to put the utility forward on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, however, came and went on Friday.
Although if Alexis Lafreniere, who is a restricted free agent, and/or Kaapo Kakko aren’t able to stick in the top-six, the Rangers may want to hold on to Goodrow in order to fill one of those voids, which he’s done multiple times since arriving on Broadway ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Otherwise, the Rangers aren’t in a position to have a fourth-line center costing over $3.6 million a season against the cap. Goodrow, who wears No. 21 (Blackjack!), could also be dealt at a later date — maybe before the trade deadline — in order to give the Rangers some cap space to fill other needs.
Figuring that Lafreniere and defenseman K’Andre Miller, who is also a RFA, will take up upwards of half of the $11.7 million they have to fill eight spots, the Rangers will have about a million for a backup goalie and not much else to round out the rest of the roster.
The Rangers would probably like to be in on Noel Acciari and/or Teddy Blueger, but they may not be able to afford either.
Acciari, who finished this past season with the Maple Leafs on a one-year deal that carried a $1.25 million cap hit, is definitely more affordable than Blueger.
There is also expected to be a lot of interest in Blueger, who won the Stanley Cup this season with the Golden Knights.
There’s a good chance we see a few cheap two-way deals made with players who will have to battle it out for the final roster spots in training camp.
Among the options the Rangers are supposedly interested in, The Post has heard of defenseman Jimmy Schuldt, who has spent the last four seasons bouncing around the American Hockey League and has just one NHL game to his name.
The 28-year-old Schuldt would presumably trail in the competition for a bottom-pair role alongside Zac Jones, who was recently signed for another two years at an affordable $812,500 annual average value, and Ben Harpur, who signed a two-year extension with an AAV of $787,500 after parlaying his AHL professional tryout into an NHL gig last season.
Defenseman Matt Irwin could be another low-cost addition for defensive depth.
Coming off a one-year deal that carried a cap hit of $750,000 with the Capitals, Irwin is no stranger to filling in the lineup in wake of injuries.
Back on the forward side, center Riley Nash could be seeking his next NHL opportunity and the Rangers may be able to give it to him.
Despite playing in the AHL the last two seasons, Nash has plenty of NHL experience, including 42 playoff games under his belt.
Nash’s last contract with the Jets was for a mere $750,000, so he could be a fourth-line center who would make sense for the Rangers.
Even though Nash is technically under contract with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for one more year, the 34-year-old has an NHL escape clause in his deal, according to an industry source.
Jonny Brodzinski, who has been in a depth role for the Rangers since 2020, is another middleman option for the fourth line.
He is under contract for one more season at $762,500 and would be a familiar face they could turn to.
The pool of candidates for a No. 2 goalie is shallow since the Rangers having around a million to spend on the position.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick, who could be signed to a bargain 35-plus deal, appears to be the most likely candidate.
Former Blueshirt Cam Talbot, who started his NHL career in New York in 2013, may also be an option if he’s willing to take a hard pay cut from the $3.6 million-plus he’s made the previous three years.
The Rangers are already all-in on their core players.
They’re going to have to bet on some low-cost newcomers to win the pot.
The Rangers extended qualifying offers to Lafreniere, Miller, Ty Emberson, Lauri Pajuniemi and Brandon Scanlin on Friday.
Libor Hajek, Patrick Khodorenko and Cooper Zech were not qualified.
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