In today’s NHL rumors rundown, what will the New York Rangers do this offseason after being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final by the Florida Panthers? Meanwhile, will the Colorado Avalanche get to work on a contract extension for Mikko Rantanen? Will Tyler Myers be back with the Vancouver Canucks next season? Finally, can the Edmonton Oilers close out the Dallas Stars on Sunday night and win the Western Conference Championship?
Rangers Offseason Expectations Include New Shesterkin Contract
According to ESPN’s Kristen Shilton and Ryan S. Clark, the New York Rangers are unlikely to make drastic changes or overhaul their roster this summer. Instead, the Rangers will focus on minor adjustments and getting a contract done for their top netminder. They are expected to remain top contenders in the Eastern Conference, provided Igor Shesterkin maintains his elite performance and their top stars regain their peak form.
Their top priority should be securing Shesterkin on a new long-term deal. It will be a deal that makes him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. As he approaches unrestricted free agency next year, contract negotiations should start this summer.
Additionally, the Rangers need to analyze why they falter at critical playoff moments. Identifying missing elements in the lineup next season is crucial. The team has made coaching changes, acquired top players, and shown patience with young talent like Alexis Lafreniere. This offseason, the focus is on pinpointing and correcting their shortcomings.
Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen Contract News
With nine pending free agents, perhaps the Colorado Avalanche’s biggest offseason concern is winger Mikko Rantanen. He becomes eligible for a contract extension on July 1st. Corey Masisak of The Denver Post notes that Rantanen’s extension talks could resemble David Pastrnak’s, who signed an eight-year, $90 million contract with the Boston Bruins in March 2023.
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General Manager Chris MacFarland aims to build around a core of Nathan MacKinnon, Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews. And, any rumors of a potential trade are inaccurate unless the two sides are miles apart on what an extension would look like.
Masisak writes:
There has been some online chatter from Avs fans about possibly trading Rantanen. Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now handled the immediate reasons why that makes no sense. This team has no idea what it’s getting from Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin moving forward, and trading its best wing would leave the group in even greater flux.
source – Avalanche Journal: What could Mikko Rantanen’s next contract look like? – Corey Masisak – Denver Post – 06/01/2024
Tyler Myers Will Have to Wait on Canucks Other Moves
Canucks analyst Rick Dhaliwal spoke to the agent of Tyler Myers, JP Barry, and was told the defenseman understands he’ll have to wait to get an extension in Vancouver because he’s not a priority for the Canucks. He quotes Barry, who said, “They know we want to be there but I think they have other priorities first. Tyler likes the city and speaks highly of the coaching staff.”
“I don’t think we’re first in line so we’ll have to see what happens here,” added Barry. Myers had an improved season and Barry was the first to admit that some of that was due to the fact the team was better overall.
Oilers Have Chance to Clinch Western Conference Final Series
Edmonton will play Dallas tonight in an elimination Game 6 for the Stars. The Oilers have played well, but the Stars won’t go down without a fight. As pointed out by Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 and Oilers Nation, there are players on this Oilers’ roster who have incredibly solid records in series-clinching games.
He writes:
In the McDavid/Draisaitl era the Oilers are 6-1 in potential series clinching games. Draisaitl has scored 4-6-10 while McDavid has 4-4-8 in those games. Bouchard has 1-7-8 in the five games he played. EDM has many players who’ve never lost a potential series clinching game in their careers: Brett Kulak and Warren Foegele (8-0), Derek Ryan (6-0), Ryan McLeod and Bouchard (5-0), Adam Henrique (4-0), Stuart Skinner and Vincent Desharnais (3-0), Dylan Holloway (2-0) and Philip Broberg and Sam Carrick (1-0).
The Oilers do not want to let this series go back to Dallas for Game 7. Edmonton needs to treat this game as though a loss means they are out of the playoffs, even though technically it’s not a must win.
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