On if taking so long with Strome was because they were talking to other teams, “A little bit of that. Ryan is due a significant raise and we had some things, talking to some teams about, and I just wanted to keep the options open to the last second.” (NYR)
3:20PM: The Rangers have sent a qualifying offer to RFA Ryan Strome, according to Darren Dreger.
The Rangers had been unsure if they were going to qualify Strome before tonight’s 5PM deadline.
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If Strome had not been qualified he would have become an Unrestricted Free Agent.
Strome has arbitration rights as an RFA.
Elliotte Friedman said on the NHL Network, “the question here is not necessarily the qualifying offer number, that is around $3.2 million, but more like what his next contract is going to be. I believe they’ve been negotiating at it, we know the Rangers situation for next year, their cap is smaller because of buyouts and potential bonuses for entry-level player. It allows them to keep the rights but they still have to negotiate whether they can come to an agreement on an exact salary for next season or do something to keep fitting all the different pieces in their roster. This one buys them some time.”
Phil Di Giuseppe and Brandon Crawley were qualified as well, former second round pick Ryan Gropp was not. (Larry Brooks)