Welcome to The Hockey Writers’ 2023 Free Agent Target series for the New York Rangers. During it, we will be looking at a handful of free agents from NHL teams who the Rangers should consider signing this summer.
In this edition, we will focus on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning have some pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) who could be of interest to the Rangers’ roster needs. Let’s discuss them now.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is an experienced player that the Rangers could sign for their bottom six. He is known as a hard-working forward that specializes in penalty-killing. New York could target him as a cost-effective replacement for their fourth-line center spot if they trade Barclay Goodrow to create a bit more cap space.
Bellemare had a 53.89 faceoff winning percentage at five-on-five and he won 46.62 percent of his draws on the penalty kill for the Lightning during the 2022-23 season. He has been adequate at winning faceoffs throughout his career with a percentage of 51.4 percent.
The 38-year-old forward’s last contract was for two years with an average annual value (AAV) of $1 million. The Rangers could offer him a one-year deal between $900,000-$1 million. He would form a solid pairing with unrestricted free agent Tyler Motte, assuming New York re-signs him. Both players are solid defensive forwards and can be used on their penalty-killing units.
Brian Elliott
If Brian Elliott decides to continue playing next season, he is an option for Rangers’ president/general manager (GM) Chris Drury to consider signing during the summer. Igor Shesterkin’s backup in 2022-23, Jaroslav Halak, is a UFA and New York may want to sign another veteran for the position.
Elliott spent 2021-22 and 2022-23 as the backup to Lightning starter Andrei Vasilevskiy. The 38-year-old netminder struggled during the regular season this year. He had a 3.40 goals-against average (GAA) and a .891 save percentage (SV%) in 22 games. For his career, he has a 2.57 GAA and a .909 SV%.
According to an article by The Hockey Writers’ Jesse Courville-Lynch, Elliott has demonstrated that he is capable of fulfilling his role as a backup goalie. He could start up to 20-25 games for New York. If GM Drury prefers to sign an experienced goaltender to a team-friendly contract, Elliott could be on the club’s radar this offseason.
Related: Rangers’ 2023 Free Agent Targets: Calgary Flames
Elliott is coming off of consecutive one-year deals for $900,000 per season. The Rangers could agree on a one-year contract with the veteran netminder for the same amount of money. They signed a one-year deal with Halak for $1.5 million last offseason and could look to sign a backup for less than that amount this offseason.
Given that the club does not have much available projected cap space ($11,762,918), they could benefit from signing a position player for under $1 million. If the club wants to add an experienced veteran as the backup goaltender, Elliott represents a safe, reliable option for the Rangers to consider adding to fulfill the role during 2023-24.
Corey Perry
After the final two years of his eight-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks were bought out by the team following the 2018-19 season, Corey Perry has signed short-term deals with a few franchises (Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens and the Lightning) over the past few years.
The Hockey Writers’ Jim Parsons Sr. (The Old Prof) wrote previously that Perry is a multi-talented player considering he can contribute offensively while playing a physical style and blocking shots. While he is no longer a top offensive player like he was earlier in his career with the Ducks, he can still contribute decent numbers for a forward at his age (38).
Perry plays with an edge, which is the kind of player the Rangers could use. He is not a big-bodied physical forward such as Ryan Reaves or Milan Lucic, but he will not back down from a confrontation. He has missed games over the course of his career due to suspensions, so there is a risk with signing a player with his history of being disciplined by the NHL.
Perry can bring his playoff resume to the Rangers, which includes one Stanley Cup championship in 2007, and several appearances with the runner-up teams in the Stanley Cup Final (2020, 2021, and 2022). New York is aiming to win at least one championship within the next few seasons and could use a player with his extensive postseason experience on their roster.
The veteran winger is coming off of a two-year contract with an AAV of $1 million per season. GM Drury could offer him a one-year deal between $1-$1.5 million. He is capable of providing adequate offensive numbers in the Rangers’ bottom six.
With the expected departures of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane this offseason, Perry could provide the Rangers with depth at the right wing spot. If New York signs him, the club could move Kaapo Kakko up to the top six as the Ontario native could replace the young forward’s spot on the third line. The 38-year-old could also play on their fourth line as he has previous experience playing on that line for the Lightning.
The Lightning have some experienced players that the Rangers could sign to affordable, short-term contracts to round out the depth on their roster. Bellemare and Perry represent players New York can put on their bottom two lines while Elliott is an experienced netminder that is capable of backing up Shesterkin.
*Advanced statistics provided by Natural Stat Trick