Fansided

One free agent every NHL team should sign this offseason

By C.L. Kohuss

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 18: Patrick Maroon #17 of the New Jersey Devils heads out to play against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 18: Patrick Maroon #17 of the New Jersey Devils heads out to play against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – NOVEMBER 10: New York Islanders Defenceman Calvin De Haan (44) handles the puck during the NHL hockey game between the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars on November 10, 2017 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – NOVEMBER 10: New York Islanders Defenceman Calvin De Haan (44) handles the puck during the NHL hockey game between the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars on November 10, 2017 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

New York Rangers: Calvin de Haan, Defenseman

As of this moment, the New York Rangers are in a full rebuilding stage. They fired head coach Alain Vigneault at season’s end after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010. They also went full fire sale at the trade deadline, shipping off Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash and Michael Grabner along with others for draft picks.

One surprise is that they didn’t send Mats Zuccarello packing. He’s a free agent in 2019 so his time may be up in New York sometime around the deadline next year as well. With upwards of $30 million in cap space, and seven restricted free agents to take care of, the Rangers could very well start building any way they want. The best choice may be to fix their defense, first and foremost. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was left out to dry practically every night. His team gave up the second most shots on goal per game at 35.3. Lundqvist ended up with a 2.98 goals against average but still sported a .915 save percentage. So give the man help as he’s 36 and you still have him under contract for three years.

Unfortunately the market for defensive free agents is fairly dry. And there’s no sense signing a defenseman who’s 30 or above. Those are the guys New York is trying to expel from the Big Apple, not bring on board. The pool is much deeper next summer when guys like Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson hit free agency. There’s really no rush except that again, you’d simply be wasting more years while having one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.

Calvin de Haan has been tossed about for the third time now. After this he’s off the board for good. But he might make the most sense here rather than anywhere else he’s been given so far. The Rangers can afford him even if his price tag is around $4 million, and he’s a young player that could fit in well with other core pieces. They still have first-rounders Brady Skjei and Anthony Deangelo on the roster, and they’re only 24 and 22 respectively.

Did we also mention that de Haan blocks shots? Because he blocks a ton. He was fourth last year in blocked shots and fourth the year prior. So that alone will help a group that struggles to keep its netminder from being pelted.

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