Rangers’ offseason will have new approach after Chris Drury’s one-year deal bonanza

All the one-year deals worth $875,000 and below that Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury signed veteran free agents to last offseason were a necessity, considering the organization’s position under the cap and desire to create opportunity for upward mobility in the lineup among its young core. 

It may have served its purpose a little too well, however, with the Rangers having to call up and give ice time to nine skaters (not including goalie Louis Domingue’s one-game cameo) who began the season in Hartford with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wolf Pack. 

But after the Rangers shed Barclay Goodrow’s contract by getting the Sharks to claim the veteran forward off the waiver wire on Wednesday, Drury looks to be freeing up cap space and taking a different course of action this summer. 

Still, last offseason’s approach allowed for the Rangers to get a better understanding of what their prospect cupboard looks like.

Prospects such Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom received lengthy opportunities, with Rempe appearing in 17 regular-season games and 11 playoff games in comparison to Edstrom’s 11 regular-season contests. 

The two Bash Brother-like forwards, who respectively stand at 6-foot-8 ½ and 6-7, will surely be in the mix come training camp, but Rempe, in particular, will look to prove he can be an NHL regular and that he wasn’t just a product of the sideshow he helped create.