With K’Andre Miller under contract, the Rangers have about $2.3 million in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
That $2.3 million includes Connor Mackey’s $775,000 which will likely be sent to Hartford.
Putting Mackey in Hartford and keeping Ben Harpur as the seventh defenseman would give the Rangers $3.078 million in cap space. Putting Harpur and Mackey in the minors and calling up Zac Jones gives the Rangers $3.053 million in cap space.
Alexis Lafreniere, and AHL defenseman Brandon Scanlin, are the only RFAs left unsigned.
Adam Rotter: The exact dollar figure will change depending upon which of the bottom-six players makes the team and who the sixth and seventh defensemen are, but the Rangers should have more than enough money to get Alexis Lafreniere signed to a bridge contract worth between $2.2 million and $2.5 million. So fielding this roster for opening night shouldn’t be a problem. I guess someone could now offer sheet Lafreniere, but that seems highly unlikely based upon how rare offer sheets are, which teams would even have the money to do it and who has the correct picks for compensation.
But once Lafreniere is signed the Rangers will be just about out of cap space and unless they were to make a trade this would basically be the lineup they start the season with. That also could impact a potential reunion with Patrick Kane when Kane is ready to sign and it will likely be another big time of crunching numbers through the season to maximize whatever cap space they can ahead of the trade deadline.