One of the biggest concerns after the regular season was that restricted free agent Will Cuylle could be “subject” to an offer sheet. The hope was that New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury would free up enough cap space to sign Cuylle long-term or ink him to a bridge-deal. With slightly more than a day to go before free agency begins, neither has proven to be the case.
Whether you normally agree with what Larry Brooks writes, you have to admit he is well-connected. Brooks wrote Sunday that all signs point to the Rangers being at significant risk that Cuylle will be signed to an offer sheet, creating material risk that he will head elsewhere. If that happens, a fanbase already on edge regarding the Rangers in general and Drury specifically will be tipped the other way.
As Brooks noted, a possibly close comp existed when the Flyers signed 23-year-old right wing Tyson Foerster to a two-year second contract for an AAV of $3.75 million on May 30. Foerster, selected No. 23 in 2020, has recorded 45 goals and 76 points for Philadelphia in his two years in the NHL, posting 25 goals and 43 points this year. Cuylle, also 23 and selected No. 60 in 2020, has recorded 33 goals and 66 points over his two-year NHL career, going 20-25 last season. To date, though, New York and Cuylle have not reached an accord, though we don;t know what figures have been discussed.
Drury’s and the Rangers’ task got infinitesimally harder Sunday when Matthew Knies signed a six year deal with a $7.75 million AAV. The prevailing view is that Knies is worth more than Cuylle, the question is how much. Cuylle shouldn’t get what Knies received, but his price might have risen into the $6 mil range for the same term, even as Drury tries to work his magic, as he has in the past, to keep the AAV down while inking him to a bridge deal.
An offer of up to $4.681M per that would bring a second-rounder back in compensation would be a slam dunk to match. Given what Knies, who would have been the other prominent RFA on the market, received, that probably wouldn’t entice Cuylle to accept it over a six- or seven-year term. A six- or seven-year offer for between $6.5-and-7M per that would yield a first- and third-rounder in the 2026 draft as compensation. Matching that type of contract would prove difficult, especially with K’Andre Miller an RFA to still be re-signed and Vladislav Gavrikov viewed as a possible target. In addition, doing so would prevent other moves from occurring. While the picks would be nice, losing Cuylle would remove a young building block for the future.
Drury created some of this mess by signing Will Borgen to a five year extension with a $4.1 million AAV not long after he was acquired for Kaapo Kakko. In addition, Carson Soucy, acquired for a third-round pick, is signed for 2025-26 with a $3.25 million cap hit. Soucy, who already was struggling, failed to regain his 2023-24 after coming over in a trade, making him a sunk cost at the time. If the cap hit for each player costs New York, Cuylle, Drury will be eviscerated even more than he already has been.
The clock is ticking…
