It is going to be difficult for Devils general manager Ray Shero to see what is going on across the Hudson River this season and not cringe.
Shero not only missed out on his most coveted free-agent target, but it was rubbed in his face when righty defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk signed a four-year, $26.6 million deal with the Rangers on Saturday afternoon, carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $6.65 million. The 28-year-old from New Rochelle gave his hometown team quite the discount, and unquestionably turned down more money from Shero and other clubs around the league.
“I know there was maybe some term and money left on the table,” Shattenkirk said on a conference call, “but when you have the opportunity to fulfill [a] lifelong dream like this, it’s an opportunity that may only come once in your career, and I felt like this was my chance.”
It was a mighty blow to everyone but the Rangers, who got the one guy they had been chasing for years in an attempt to bolster the right side of the defense. But if Shattenkirk was the headliner of this free-agent class, then it showed just how different the market is from years past. With the salary-cap ceiling going up just $2 million to $75 million, and with a lockout looming after the 2019-20 season, it seems the shine on those high-priced players was dulled a bit.
“I would say that the market is what it is,” Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said. “We tried to stay away from these five-, six-, seven-year deals and figure out where the cap is going forward. As far as other players and talking around the league and seeing what was available, that was the case — it didn’t seem like the five-, six-, seven-year deals were out there for many teams. So it’s an interesting change in the market.”
So now that Shattenkirk is off the board, it is up to Shero and his front-office brethren to regroup. The Devils already started picking away at the plethora of holes on their roster, signing former Rangers center Brian Boyle to a two-year, $5.1 million deal carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $2.55 million.
Meanwhile, the Islanders were doing as expected — sitting back and watching the market unfold. General manager Garth Snow has a bevy of high picks acquired last weekend at the NHL draft, and he is at the ready to use them when the proper trade arises. That very well could be the Avalanche’s Matt Duchene, if Colorado comes down on the asking price after the free-agency dust settles.
Snow did manage to add some defensive depth Saturday, signing former Devil Seth Helgeson, 26, to a one-year, two-way deal, and the same deal for 29-year-old blueliner Kane Lafranchise.
Saturday was also the first day that Islanders captain John Tavares could sign a contract extension, this coming season being the final year of his current deal, which would take him into unrestricted free agency. Nothing was done as of Saturday evening, as Tavares evaluates the franchise as a whole before deciding where he wants to be long term.
Where the team will be playing home games in a few years is certainly an issue, as well. Snow already made things look better by trading for Jordan Eberle last weekend, but more upgrades are needed if the Islanders want to compete in the Metropolitan Division.
From here, the free-agent market begins to drastically thin out, and teams are left looking at signing supplemental depth pieces. The already hot trade market might pick up again once the reality of the season is staring some general managers in the face. That is when Snow hopes to make the biggest impact by pulling the trigger on a trade.
As for Shero, he is left with a ton of salary-cap room and no big-name player to fill it. That is a fact he will be reminded of every time the Rangers come to mind, and those at the Garden have to smile at their good fortune in a strange marketplace.
“Thankfully for us, it’s a situation for us that we have a player that wants to play for the Rangers,” Gorton said. “He’s an excellent player and it worked out for both of us.”
And now the rest of the league has to adjust, and quickly.