Foreseeing the Rangers Free-Agent Signings 2012-2013

With impending free-agency, the Rangers are starting to weigh their options. Who to sign, who to let walk, and who to resign. All the typical stuff a fan sees a team do during the offseason. The Rangers have quite a few free-agents that are about to hit the market July 1st, and the Rangers are definitely not going to resign all of them. In total, there are eight unrestricted free-agents and three restricted free agents on the Rangers roster, and this is unsettling because of how much of a hole this can cause in the lineup if they do not approach this competently.

Lets look at the forwards first of all. Mats Zuccarello, Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko and John Mitchell are all going to hit the market on July 1st. Zuccarello I do not believe the Rangers will sign because he has been a liability ever since joining the team, coping with injuries and being unable to deal with the size of the NHL big guys, which will probably mean the Rangers will let him walk to a foreign league.

Ruslan Fedotenko I do not see resigning either. After being a good support player in his first year in New York, his play declined severely this year. His space could be put to better use for a younger play who could produce more often, which is why I do not see them resigning Fedotenko either.



Brandon Prust would have been an easy resign for the Rangers, had the asking price not been to high. Prust's apparent asking price was for $2 million dollars, and the Rangers are not willing to play ball with that high of a price for a fighter. With Mike Rupp signed for the next two years, and Stu Bickel's bargain-bin price tag, I don't see the Rangers resigning Prust.

The only Ranger forward I see resigning with the Rangers is John Mitchell, and even he is a stretch. I think the Rangers see some potential in Mitchell, despite not producing very often down the stretch for the Rangers. But a few upsides to Mitchell is that he is young, and he is in a young pool, which gives him room to work and grow as a player.

Now onto the void of defencemen who are facing offers in a week. Anton Stralman, Stu Bickel, John Scott, Jeff Woywitka, Steve Eminger, and Michael Del Zotto are all going to free-agency on the 1st, and maybe not even half of them might be back next season. Del Zotto and Stralman are restricted free-agents, and out of both of them, the only one I see coming back is Stralman. Stralman made an impression on the Blueshirts on an under-the-radar signing that paid some dividends for the Rangers this season. Stralman was a good checker through the neutral zone, especially near the boards, and had a good shot that managed to find twine on more than a few occasions during the playoffs. I think Stralman will get a two-year, $2 million contract to keep him here in New York.

Along with a returning cast, the only other defenceman returning would be Steve Eminger. Even though he has been a healthy scratch for a bit just because of space on the roster, he has proved some worth as a 6th or 7th defenceman. I don't see him signing any big-buck contract, but if he is still available as free-agency dies down, the Rangers may scoop him up for depth purposes.

After that, I don't Scott, Woywitka, or Del Zotto resigning. Scott and Woywitka are going to be cut loose for nothing, while Del Zotto may be resigned, but only as trade bait for another defenceman the Rangers would need. A trade package I can see him being a part of would be a package deal with Michael Sauer for some big name defenceman to fill the void.

It is going to be an interesting free-agency for the Rangers this year, as there are quite a few big names on the market to potentially sign. As a fan, we can only hope the organization we trust does the best for our team for the long haul, and makes the right choices. Will that happen this year with the Rangers? We shall see...