We all know what Chris Drury did in free agency, but some of the more interesting Rangers free agency rumors are from what he attempted but didn’t come to fruition. Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts pod had some interesting little tidbits of Rangers free agency rumors, ranging from expanded Vlad Gavrikov rumors to other free agency targets that Drury was perhaps saved from himself. The reaction to some of these rumors was expected, with doom and gloom, but it’s fair to state we don’t know the extent of some of these Rangers free agency rumors.
1. The Rangers attempted to do a sign-and-trade with Vlad Gavrikov
Vlad Gavrikov coming to the Rangers seemed to be a foregone conclusion, with the best defenseman on the market agreeing to terms with the Rangers on a discounted seven year, $49 million contract. But Drury attempted a sign-and-trade to get Gavrikov for an extra year at what we can only assume is the same cap hit ($7 million).
No deal ever transpired, though it is interesting. We have no idea what Drury could have offered to LA to execute the sign and trade, and it’s a bit odd that LA didn’t accept anything since they essentially lost Gavrikov for nothing. Peanuts are better than nothing, right?
2. The Rangers were in on Tanner Jeannot
The biggest of the Rangers free agency rumors is that the Rangers were in on Tanner Jeannot, who signed a crazy 5 year deal carrying a $3.4 million cap hit. The contract is a doozy that already looks bad, similar to the Barclay Goodrow contract. Jeannot isn’t as bad as Goodrow, but he’s trending that way. It’s safe to assume signing Taylor Raddysh came after Jeannot signed with the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins saved Drury from himself, which is good. However it’s difficult to see how Jeannot–at that cap hit–fit into Drury’s plans. Even without Raddysh, the Rangers are $2 million short. I’m guessing someone like Juuso Parssinen would need to be traded, but that’s the best I can come up with.
3. Carolina was attempting an offer sheet for K’Andre Miller
Of the Rangers free agency rumors, Carolina looking to offer sheet Miller is far from a secret. Apparently Carolina GM Eric Tulsky was attempting an offer sheet for Evan Bouchard in Edmonton as well. But with Miller, the Canes needed their own third round pick back, which is currently with the Utah Mammoth. Friedman noted Carolina was attempting to get the pick back to offer sheet Miller. No word on what Carolina offered, of course.
Given this, we know Carolina was looking at that 1st/3rd round compensation for Miller. Without knowing the details, it sounds like Tulsky felt giving up Scott Morrow and a 2nd round pick–in addition to the 1st round pick–and getting the 8th year on Miller was a better bet than whatever Utah was asking for the Canes’ 3rd round pick. Utah probably leveraged Carolina’s desire for an offer sheet in negotiations, forcing Tulsky to just work out a sign-and-trade.
This attempt by the Canes to offer sheet Miller apparently came as a response to Dmitry Orlov telling the Canes he would not re-sign. Miller was rumored to go do Detroit until that news materialized late on June 30.
The more interesting Rangers free agency rumors include what could have happened, instead of what did happen. In this case, the offseason could look a lot different if Gavrikov got the 8th year, Miller was offer sheeted, and Drury landed Jeannot. I imagine the outlook would not have been as rosy and positive had the offseason played out this way.
