Larry Brooks
nhl
slapping
Published June 15, 2024 at 2:51 pm ET
The decision would be easy if Barclay Goodrow hadn’t risen to the occasion in both the playoffs and the conference finals against Florida.
But of course, No. 21 did, as announced when he arrived in New York as a near-free agent after newly minted general manager Chris Drury acquired his rights from Tampa Bay and signed the winger to a six-year contract. years with an annual salary cap of $3,641,667. hit.
So the calculation has become more difficult. The decision has become more challenging for Drury and the hierarchy. The Rangers need more fit players for the playoffs, not less. They need as many known playoff numbers as they can get as they prepare once again against the forces of a tax-free Florida.
But the bottom line should be the same: The Rangers need more size and speed. They need to open up salary cap space. The Rangers benefited from Goodrow’s presence to reach the conference finals in two of three seasons on Broadway, but now, in the cold light of 14 days since elimination, it’s time to move on from the forward, who will turn 32 at the end of February.
Barclay Goodrow took a step forward in the Rangers playoffs. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Goodrow scored two goals in the Rangers’ final victory of the season, a Game 3 overtime win over the Panthers, after also scoring in Game 2. He had scored six goals in 13 playoff games after recording four in 80 games during the regular season. Goodrow had clearly been one of the club’s best players against Florida.
Goodrow then got 5:12 of even ice time over the first two periods of Game 4; 4:32 of even ice for the first two periods of Game 5 and then 7:33 of even strength for the first two periods of Game 6.
In other words, in his prime, and when head coach Peter Laviolette had to find 12 healthy forwards while facing a premature end to his championship quest, Goodrow still received limited ice time.
I’m not going to keep the $3.641 million-plus alternate captain on the fourth line, not at this point in the team’s evolution. If his teammates haven’t yet absorbed his leadership lessons, they never will. Goodrow was brought in to anchor the third line. That never really worked out.
New York Rangers center Barclay Goodrow celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime with his teammates against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
The NHL’s buyout period, under which the Rangers would actually get a $247,222 salary credit for this season, runs from 48 hours after the Cup Final ends until June 30. Drury should not rush into a buyout that would hit the Blueshirts with a salary penalty. of 3,502 million dollars in 2026-27. Instead, the GM should look to move Goodrow in a trade that could materialize in the June 28-29 entry Draft.
Goodrow should have value on the market as his deal now only has three years left. He surely has more value as a mentor to Connor Bedard than Corey Perry did in Chicago. Utah, née Arizona, may need help reaching the salary cap and always needs help on a veteran basis. The Sharks and Ducks need veteran leadership.
However, there’s no way I’m adding a sweetener to the deal or retaining salary/space. Sorry, I won’t, and Drury can’t do it either. The Rangers have already sacrificed their second-rounder in each of the next three drafts, their third-rounder in the next two drafts, and their fourth-rounder in 2025 and 2026. There are limits on the number of contract holds a team can keep in any given year. moment. time, so retaining Goodrow could have an impact on hypothetical future moves. Retention and sweeteners are out.
Barclay Goodrow will turn 32 next February. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
If the Blueshirts can’t make a hockey trade, a buyout would be necessary, with a cap fee ranging from $1.111 million to that one-time hit of $3.502 million over the next six seasons. I’d rather deal with that than add a draft pick to move Goodrow’s contract the same way the team did with Patrick Nemeth.
A Goodrow buyout would leave the Rangers with approximately $15.549 million in cap space as of July 1 on a shadow roster that includes nine forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders, but does not include impending restricted free agents Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider, nor bubble forwards Matt Rempe. , Adam Edstrom and Jonny Brodzinski.
Moving Goodrow also creates an opportunity for one of Hartford’s kids or an offseason acquisition. It is a complicated matter to move a known quantity to open a place for a young man; Part of the thinking behind the Pavel Buchnevich trade was that Vitali Kravtsov was going to need top-six time on the right, but this is the time for the Rangers. .
This is the time to leave Goodrow.
There is no NHL equivalent to the basketball life led by Jerry West, who died last week at age 86.
The closest one is probably Mario Lemieux, right? – who saved the Penguins for Pittsburgh as the No. 1 overall pick in 1984 and then saved them again by buying the team and presiding from the owner’s suite when there were orchestrated hints of a move to Kansas City.
I say no, but would the Canes say no to a one-for-one if the Blueshirts offered K’Andre Miller outright for impending restricted free agent Martin Necas?
The moment the NHL decided not to prosecute the crime of cheap artist on cheap artist when Sam Bennett’s punch in Game 3 to Brad Marchand’s jaw knocked out the Boston center for the rest of the second-round series is the moment in which the NHL endorsed the Panthers’ bid for the Cup.
It’s not even about officiating standards at this point. It’s about player safety. But of course, it’s rarely about player safety.
Isn’t it time for the league to create a Department of Player Safety?
Sometimes the sacrifice is impressive, and so is the physical commitment over the course of the playoffs.
Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers skates against Niko Mikkola of the Florida Panthers in game three of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. NHLI via /Keynote USA/Getty Images
But I think it would be equally satisfying and perhaps more entertaining if the playoffs featured the same display of skill that the league displays for six months.
I totally agree with the Utah Yoots.
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