6/13/25 | 9AM: Friedman said on 32 Thoughts about the Rangers offer sheets, “I think the Rangers do make teams nervous, we’ll see if it’s real or just a fake…they want to be aggressive.
He added, “Miller, couple of other teams told me that the reason we are hearing a lot of Miller’s name is that they don’t want to give him term and if they sign him to an extension it’s not going to be a long-term extension and that is why his name is out there. Lafreniere, I’ll tell you, I get pushback on it. If Lafreniere’s available, it’s not widely known. I got big pushback on Lafreniere.”
6/12/25 | 7:03PM: Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network, “I still think there is more to come. I’ve had push back on Lafreniere. There have been some reports that he might be available, I’ve had some people push back that on me, I’m not as certain about that one. K’Andre Miller, from what I’ve heard, another team told me that the Rangers weren’t willing to give K’Andre Miller term and that is kind of why he’s out there now. He’s getting closer to unrestricted free agency, the Rangers had a hesitancy to sign him long term right now so I do think there is a chance Miller will be dealt in the near future.”
He added, “When they made the trade today the word offer sheet was tossed around with the Rangers and no one was really arguing with it.”
3:06PM: Following the trade of Chris Kreider to Anaheim, the Rangers have just under $15 million in cap space.
Emily Kaplan, among others, mentioned that the Rangers could be looking at offer sheets this summer.
Elliotte Friedman said on Sportsnet 590 earlier, “I think it’s interesting how the Rangers really aren’t upset to have the words offer sheet connected to them. Some teams really try to downplay that, the Rangers don’t seem concerned about downplaying it. They want people to know that they are coming” and continued that the Rangers can structure offer sheets in a way where “teams that don’t like bonuses wouldn’t like it.”
He added, “Everybody knows that the Rangers are out there and they are not done yet. He made it very clear that they had to change some things. Lafreniere is a really interesting one to me because he’s signed and in an era where the cap is shooting up a lot over the next couple of years, that contract, especially if he performs even close to a level he is capable of performing at, that is going to be a really good contract. A really good contract, I find that whole thing pretty interesting.”
Adam Rotter: The offer sheet situation is interesting for the Rangers because they don’t own all of their own draft picks and that makes it tough. At top, the Rangers haven’t decided yet whether they are giving Pittsburgh their first round pick this year or next year. If the Rangers hold onto their pick this year then the Rangers can’t sign a player to an offer sheet of between $4,680,077 – $7,020,113 since that range and beyond all include a 2026 first round pick. If the Rangers give Pittsburgh their pick this year and retain their 2026 First round pick then they have more, but not all options, because Utah, from when they were Arizona, own their 2026 second round pick. That takes out the range of $2,340,038 – $4,680,076, which is just one second round pick, but also anything from $7,020,114 to $11,700,192 since that includes a combination of first, second and third round picks. Would Utah trade the Rangers their second round pick back? I’m sure that is possible, like how St. Louis reacquired one of their picks last year before offersheeting, and signing, two players from the Oilers.
So if the Rangers give the Penguins their 2025 pick and re-acquire their 2026 second round pick from Utah then we could definitely see the Rangers looking at going the offer sheet/RFA route. All of this offer sheet talk could also just be another way for the Rangers and Chris Drury to make sure all teams and agents know he wants to make moves and be aggressive.