The Rangers had a chance to get ahead of the market with Gabe Perreault, but they chose not to press the issue before the Sept. 16 extension deadline.
That cutoff mattered because the new collective bargaining agreement changed the rules. Eight-year extensions are still possible only for players already on a team, but seven years is now the maximum term on a new deal.
The Washington Capitals used that window to lock up Ryan Leonard on an eight-year, $84 million contract. Around the league, that naturally sparked questions about whether general manager Chris Drury would do the same with Perreault.
He didn’t.
Perreault remains in the final year of his rookie contract and is set to become a restricted free agent after the season. According to The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano and Peter Baugh, Drury had no interest in trying to hammer out an extension before the deadline.
Their reporting points to one key reason: Perreault is a 10.2(c) player, which means he didn’t play enough games in 2024-25 to earn a year of service time. Because of that status, and the way his experience factors in, he is not eligible to be offer sheeted.
That takes a major layer of urgency off the table for the Rangers. They do not have to worry about another club trying a Leo Carlsson-style move, forcing them into a brutal decision or leaving them to collect four first-round picks. The Anaheim Ducks, as the source material notes, had to deal with that kind of pressure after matching a five-year, $90 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers for Carlsson.
For now, the Rangers get a longer runway to see what Perreault really looks like in their lineup. That evaluation figures to happen in a prominent spot, too, with Perreault projected as the top-line winger this season.
There is risk in waiting, though. If Perreault takes another step, the number attached to his next contract could climb fast.
He did not pile up eye-popping totals last season, but his overall game earned him more responsibility from head coach Mike Sullivan, including time on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière. In 49 games, Perreault put up 12 goals and 15 assists. Even more of his production came after the Olympic break, when he scored nine goals and added 10 assists in 25 games.
The expectations around him are already high. Some prospect evaluators see shades of Tampa Bay Lightning star winger and last season’s Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov in his game. If Perreault gets anywhere close to that level, the Rangers would take it in a heartbeat.
The market, though, keeps pushing upward. Leonard is now at $10.5 million per season, and while Perreault is not headed toward the Macklin Celebrini and Carlsson range of $18 million annually, another strong season could still force the Rangers into eight-figure territory per year.
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Rangers Roster Crunch Could Cost Them A Young Player They Like
The roster trim is underway at Madison Square Garden, with the Rangers moving into the waiver portion of their preseason cutdown ahead of the September 28 deadline. Five players have already been waived and cleared, and goalie Spencer Martin is currently on waivers as the club works through the usual late-summer sorting that comes with a crowded camp and a few tough decisions.
What makes this stretch a little more delicate is that not every player exposed would be likely to slip through untouched. Based on speculation from scouts and an NHL agent, Matt Rempe, Scott Morrow and Dylan Garand are the names most often mentioned as potential targets if the Rangers end up putting them on waivers, which gives the final phase of the cutdown a little extra tension for a team trying to keep its depth intact. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Roster Battle Is Starting To Get Real In Preseason
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The most interesting edge may be in goal, where the backup role remains unsettled behind Igor Shesterkin. Joonas Korpisalo, acquired from the Bruins this summer, is making his preseason debut and is in the mix with Dylan Garand for the No. 2 job, one of the few spots still carrying real suspense. The Rangers are set to lean into that process again in Fridays preseason finale against the Islanders, when they plan to use what should be their opening-night lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Blue Line May Finally Be Fixing A Costly Problem
The Rangers spent July trying to shore up a defense corps that has too often been more about surviving than driving play, and the early signs from their new-look blue line have at least given the staff something to build on. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson arrived with the kind of reputations that fit what New York has been chasing, and in the preseason home opener, coach Mike Sullivan had reason to focus on the pair even in a 4-3 loss to the Islanders.
Their puck-moving ability stood out as the Rangers sorted through combinations ahead of the season, and the expectation is that the two will open the year together on the second pairing. For a team that knows how costly defensive-zone pressure can become when breakouts stall, getting that part of the game cleaner could matter as much as any single preseason result, especially if Sullivan keeps leaning into the chemistry that showed up early. [Read more 🡒]