from Andrew Gross of The Record,
Not to be an alarmist, but next summer also promises to put the squeeze on the Rangers.
The Rangers and Stepan avoided arbitration on Monday as the No. 1 center agreed to a six-year, $39 million deal with an average cap figure of $6.5 million that leaves the team with approximately, $400,000 in cap space under the $71.4 million ceiling.
There are no projections yet what the cap will be for 2016-17.
But with Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller slated to be restricted free agents, next summer also figures to be a costly one for the Rangers, especially with all three arbitration eligible.
Keeping a core group together in the financial minefields of a salary-capped NHL is a tough tightrope to walk and there are casualties. This summer, it was Carl Hagelin, an RFA dealt to the Ducks in order to free space to re-sign Stepan.
Team president Glen Sather, still the general manager at the time of the trade, told the speedy left wing it was a sad day for the organization in having to deal him.
A likely departure next summer will be defenseman Keith Yandle, who cost Sather a first-round pick and top prospect Anthony Duclair on March 1. Yandle is working on the last season of a five-year, $26.25 million deal with a cap hit of $5.25 million. The Rangers can afford him now because only half of his cap figure counts against the Rangers, the other half is charged to his previous team, the Coyotes.
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