The Rangers’ signing of Eeli Tolvanen does more than give them another scorer. It starts to squeeze the edges of the roster, and that pressure could decide who opens the year in New York and who heads to Hartford.
Tolvanen agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million AAV after a 36-point season with the Seattle Kraken. He’s been the kind of steady producer who lands in the 25-35 point range, and that kind of reliability gives the Rangers another useful piece up front. But the ripple effect is the bigger story here.
Before the signing, the third line still had a little mystery to it. Oliver Bjorkstrand was expected to slot into the top six, which left the right side next to Will Cuylle and Noah Laba open.
Taylor Raddysh looked like the default answer. There was also a path for Liam Greentree or Brody Lamb to turn heads in camp and force the issue, though a longer run in the AHL always seemed more realistic.
Beyond that, the Rangers had a cluster of candidates in Tye Kartye, Jaroslav Chmelar, Adam Sykora, and, to a lesser extent, Joe Veleno, Matt Rempe, and Jusso Parssinen all in the mix for a third-line look.
That picture changes now.
Veleno and Kartye already felt more like fourth-line options, and Tolvanen’s arrival makes that even clearer. If that’s how it settles, Raddysh looks like the favorite to handle fourth-line right wing, with Rempe lining up as the likely 13th forward.
But this still isn’t locked in. Chmelar could keep pushing and make enough of an impression to shove Raddysh into the 13th-forward role or even out of the picture entirely.
And the waiver situation matters here, too. Chmelar and Sykora can be sent down without that risk, while Raddysh, Rempe, and Parssinen would have to clear waivers.
That leaves the Rangers with a real decision to make about how much they’re willing to gamble on keeping those players around.
In Other News...
Ducks Just Opened The Door For Their Next Big Move
Chris Kreiders brief stay with the Ducks has come to an end, another notable turn in a career that already carried plenty of Rangers significance. After being traded from New York, the veteran winger spent last season in Anaheim, where his presence was as much about experience and pedigree as it was about what came next for a club trying to juggle its roster and salary structure.
The move also gives Anaheim some needed breathing room under the cap as it works through its restricted free-agent business, including talks with Cutter Gauthier. Kreider, 35, leaves with a long track record of production behind him, including 348 goals and 632 points, and his next stop will be one of the more interesting follow-up stories for a player whose career has already taken an unexpected late turn. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Prospects Have An Early Chance To Force Tough Camp Decisions
The Rangers are getting an early look at their next wave this week, with prospects headed to Allentown, Pa., for two rookie games against the Flyers. It is a useful first checkpoint for a 26-man camp roster built mostly from drafted and signed prospects, along with a couple players who have already seen limited NHL action. Before the real camp battles begin, this is the kind of setting where young players can start separating themselves and putting a little pressure on the decisions that follow.
For several of the rookies, this will be their first game action in the organization, including a big chunk of this years draft class. Jay Leach, hired recently to coach Hartford, is also making his organizational debut while handling rookie camp practices and games, which gives the Rangers another fresh eye on a group trying to make a first impression. The results in September do not settle anything, but they can shape the conversation fast, especially for prospects who know they are already on the clock. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Have A Will Cuylle Extension Blueprint At Last
The Bruins may have handed the Rangers a useful reference point in the case of Fraser Minten, whose new long-term deal came after a strong season and a clear rise in value. For New York, the comparison naturally turns to Will Cuylle, whose own trajectory has put him in the conversation as one of the more important young pieces in the organization. The appeal is obvious: if a player with Mintens profile can be locked in before the market gets even pricier, the same logic could apply to a winger the Rangers already view as part of their future.
Cuylles situation, though, comes with the usual New York complications. The Rangers are still sorting out a roster that needs both flexibility and impact, and any extension discussion has to fit into a cap picture that leaves little room for easy moves. Even so, the broader lesson is hard to ignore. Teams that want to build around homegrown talent usually have to act before the price climbs too far, and the Rangers may now have a blueprint worth studying if they want to keep Cuylle in place for the long haul. [Read more 🡒]