The New York Rangers have a handful of upcoming free agents this summer, including Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Lindgren, and Braden Schneider. Factoring in an urgent need to sign a first-line right winger, it seemed unlikely that the Blueshirts would be able to accomplish everything on their offseason to-do list. However, a massive league update makes doing so a bit more realistic.
NHL announces a major raise in salary cap limit
Saturday afternoon, the NHL announced that the upper limit for the 2024-25 NHL salary cap will be raised to $88 million. This $4.5 million increase may not seem like a lot, but given the Rangers’ current financial situation, any bit of available spending helps.
How should the Rangers utilize this salary cap raise?
The Blueshirts would have likely been able to extend both Kakko and Schneider before this update. What would have been a major issue was Lindgren’s contract, as he is due for a pay raise this summer. His previous contract came with an average annual value of $3 million, and he’ll likely be looking for an extension worth around $4.5 million in area — the exact increase the NHL has just announced.
It would be in the best interest for the Rangers to utilize this salary cap increase by extending Lindgren for as long as possible. New York’s defensive corps is due for some major changes, but Lindgren’s top pairing with superstar Adam Fox was not a part of their season-ending problems.
Lindgren deserves to remain a Ranger for at least the remainder of this Cup window, and this salary cap increase may be the trick that gets the extension done. The rest of the Blueshirts’ offseason tasks should be able to be completed with the remainder of their available spending, as well as whatever is cleared up via trade or buyout.