3 New York Rangers who won't be back next season

3 New York Rangers who won’t be back next season

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 07: Ryan Reaves #75 of the New York Rangers skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on June 07, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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ST PAUL, MN – MARCH 08: Patrik Nemeth #12 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Minnesota Wild in the first period of the game at Xcel Energy Center on March 8, 2022 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Rangers 5-2. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

Which New York Rangers won’t be returning to the club next season?

The Rangers were one of the better teams in the league during the 2022 season, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference just two games behind the Hurricanes. The Rangers finished the year with a 52-24 record in the regular season and a +47 goal differential.

In April of this year, the Rangers clinched a playoff berth after missing out last season and went on to have quite the eventful postseason. In the First Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the team was down 3-1 against the Penguins before rallying and winning the next three games of the series, putting them up 4-3 over Pittsburgh.

In the next round, the Rangers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2015 thanks to a seven-game defeat over the Hurricanes.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and the Rangers were defeated by reigning champions the Tampa Bay Lightning, who now face off against the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Rangers who won’t be back: Patrik Nemeth

The Rangers brought big defenseman Patrik Nemeth aboard in July of 2021 with a three-year, $7.5 million contract. Nemeth is a 6-3 230-lb. defenseman who was brought aboard to make the Rangers more physically challenging to face off against.

While Nemeth took a slight paycut from his previous contract with the Red Wings and Avalanche (where he made $3 million annually as opposed to the $2.5 million with the Rangers), his contract is set to increase and the Rangers may look to cut bait before he gets too expensive.

Nemeth, 30, began to lose his place in the Rangers lineup to young rookie Zac Jones in part to Nemeth’s missing time with COVID-19 and then the birth of his baby boy.

Jones is just 21 years of age and offers New York more offensive firepower than Nemeth does and is likely to replace the 30-year-old Swede full-time as soon as this upcoming season. If New York chooses to trade Nemeth, which they likely will at this point, they may have to eat a bit of his salary but that decision will be an easy one as they look to hand the reigns over to Jones.

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