Keys of the offseason for the New York Rangers
Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Looking at some of the offseason questions and decisions the New York Rangers are facing this offseason.
Figure out their goaltending situation – The Rangers may need to have a talk with Henrik Lundqvist. A tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev would be ideal for the Rangers. Lundqvist may not want to be traded. Could he be bought out? Georgiev may have to be traded if they don’t move on from Lundqvist.
It’s all about the RFAs – Have three important RFAs in Ryan Strome, Brendan Lemieux, and Anthony DeAngelo. They could sign all three to bridge deals, with DeAngelo and Strome long-term candidates but they could also be trade candidates. Jesper Fast is a UFA and the Rangers could try to sign him to a short-term deal.
Improve on D – The Rangers need to improve their blue line this offseason. With their cap situation, they may not have the room to go shopping in free agency.
Keys to the offseason for the Winnipeg Jets
Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Looking at some of the offseason questions and decisions the Winnipeg Jets are facing this offseason.
Decide which free agents stay and which go – The Jets have 11 pending unrestricted free agents. Dylan DeMelo and Cody Eakin are the most interesting of the group. The Winnipeg native Eakin may not require much of a raise from his $3.85 million. DeMelo will require a big raise from the $900,000 he made this past season.
Make a decision on Laurent Brossoit – Brossoit didn’t have a great season but he and Connor Hellebuyck have a good relationship and he only makes $1.225 million.
Improve the blue line – DeMelo and Dmitry Kulikov are pending UFAs. Ville Heinola could be a key contributor next year. They could test the free-agent market with Brenden Dillon, Travis Hamonic and Sami Vatanen as potential defensemen that would draw their interest.