Off-Season Chaos ~ New York Rangers 2023 Off-Season So Far By Jennifer Kate
Well, it's been a little while since I've sat down and written a blog for you guys, but now I'm back! And boy, is there a lot of hockey content I want to write about this off-season so far, but let's focus on the New York Rangers off-season and the absolute Chaos happening.
But before we jump into the blog, let me quickly re-introduce myself for those who may not know; I'm Jennifer Kate. I'm a producer for Fruity Serial here on the Empty The Bench Podcast Network.
Let's get into the blog because there is a lot surrounding the New York Rangers during the off-season. As you may know, the Rangers let go of former head coach Gerard Gallant and replaced him with new head coach Peter Laviolette. Still, some of you may know that if you follow the Empty The Bench Podcast Network Hitting For The Cycle blogs, Co-Host Hank Indictor wrote a blog about the coaching change. That said, I won't get too much into the coaching change and all the details but will quickly give my opinion on the change. I like this move now that I've had some time to sit and think about it and talk to some people about this change. But that's not the reason I'm writing this blog. Let's talk about the off-season additions and possible subtractions for the Rangers, and I will give my reaction to each signing.
Let's start with the pickups for the Rangers, starting with what I like to call Free Agent Frenzy. Let's talk about the big-name player that has had a rough go of it over the last little bit. The Rangers have signed Jonathan Quick to a 1-year contract worth 825k. Now if you ask me how i feel about this signing, I like this move for the Rangers. It was a low-price contract, he's a stable backup, and he's a guy you can trust between the pipes, so I'm super happy with this signing for the Rangers.
Let's talk about the next signing for the Rangers, and this guy is also a veteran who's been around the league, and I did not see this signing coming at all. This came completely out of nowhere. Some of you might know his name, some of you may not; anyways, his name is Blake Wheeler. The Rangers signed Wheeler to a one-year contract worth 800k. Now this is another solid contract for the Rangers, another veteran presence for the Rangers who can help mentor the younger players on the team. Again, you didn't break the bank on a guy who will probably not resign with you after this season.
Let's move on to a current Rangers player who just resigned with us, and saying I'm unsure about how I feel about this contract is an understatement of the year. K'Andre Miller has signed a 2-year contract extension worth 3.872 million. This contact makes me unsure if I'm being honest. Let's talk about why I am unsure about how I feel about this K'Andre Miller contract extension. If you guys saw the Miller suspension, that is a big part of why I feel unsure about giving him that much money and that he's not been the player people have hyped him up to be. K'Andre Miller is 6'5, weighs around 209 pounds, and is a big boy. He's very tall, and he has an excellent hockey IQ. But here's the downside to
Miller, what worries me is that he doesn't take bodies well. He's not the best at making plays on the fly at times, and not to say this is something he always does, but it happens occasionally.
Let's talk about one last topic before I wrap up this blog. There is one more player we need to discuss: Alexis Lafrenière, who is still a restricted free agent. The Rangers only have a hair of 3 million dollars left in cap space which worries me because as a first-round draft pick and a player who has not done that poorly this season, he will probably want more than what the Rangers can afford because if you ask me i don't think he will take that much of a hometown discount if I'm being frank with you guys.
Well, I lied, guys; there is one more topic I want to touch on quickly. Vladimir Tarasenko was supposedly signing with the Carolina Hurricanes. That contract fell through overnight, and not to mention he also fired his agent, and he now has new representation, and hopefully, that means he will re-sign with the Rangers, but again as i mentioned before, the cap space is what concerns me. As stated, they now have two options for players to sign and have just a hair over 3 million dollars to spend.
Ok, I'm done with this blog finally. Thank you, guys, so much for reading this blog. Feel free to find me on social media and let me know your opinions of the Rangers for this upcoming season. Have a great day guys, and I'll catch you guys with the next blog.