i think you are on the right path. bridge Strome for 2 years, somewhere between $4-5M.
create his value as a solid 2C and trade him from a place of strength in year 2.
they need to do the same thing with Smith - pair him with Trouba, create a solid shutdown pair and then move him at the deadline for whatever they can get.
it would be nice to move Staal somewhere, even 50% retained to open more opportunity for the younger guys.

this team is still 2 years away from being considered as a contender - this year and next are going to be confusing years for the fan base, especially after what they accomplished the past 2 months.

.. I mean they technically are contending now and if they still had Kreider they’d do a much better job at it. But zib is carrying the team these days

technically, yes they are - but it is a false positive, they score a lot of goals but they also give up a lot of goals.
let's say the Islanders or Columbus keep free falling and the Rangers squeak into a WC spot, they get their doors blown off in the first round.
i don't consider them a contender at this point because they still have work to do. that completely changes at the end of next season when $24.5M comes off the books and your worse contract is Trouba at $8M (which i don't think is that bad right now). a lot can change between now and the 21/22 season, but they are set up to be a powerhouse.

Lookk the rangers have always had bad defense but they rarely had defense that can score the way they are. They always rely on great goaltending and when Igor gets back they have a legit chance

No reaason for Strome to agree to a 2 year deal. He's 26 and could walk to free agency in a year. He should demand a long term deal or a one year deal.

Smith and Staal are not going anywhere because nobody will want to take their deals unless you NYR gave up assets NYR likely does not want to give up. Just let them play out next year and then use the large amount of a cap space in the following offseason.

Disagree with you on Smith, hard agree on Staal and furthermore he will never waive his NMC. And thats what i think happens honestly. They just play them out and thats that.

i think we are saying the same thing 2 different ways - yes, the Rangers have a chance to make the playoffs, i'm not disagreeing with that. what I am saying is that they don't have a shot in hell to get past the first round. they are contenders to make the playoffs, they are not contenders in the playoffs...

Nobody is going to want to take Smith UNLESS you package him with another asset (maybe Georgiev if Henrik stays after all this). Otherwise, even at a little north of $2 million, no team will be interested; they can find cheaper players with equal production in free agency. I think Smith and Staal as a third pair with limited minutes, while calling up some of the younger players to play with them from time time would not be the worst thing in the world.

Smith at 2.35m salary and 4.35m cap hit and being able to play NHL minutes has value to any team looking to ensure cap floor and scrimp on payroll. He is moveable without a bribe, especially if the floor jumps with a bigger cap rise.

With that logic he would have already been moved this past offseason, as there was at least one team that could have needed that. But in practice, teams could just give a Wayne Simmonds contract to avoid that. I would be pessimistic in the ability to move him, that's all.

because his bonus is paid out on 7/2/20 and thats when his Cap Hit and Salary owed diverge....

Sure, but that’s missing my point. I think teams would rather use the 2.17 million to another player (maybe 2) with less cap hit and salary and equal production. They should be able to find that on the open market. And if they were struggling to hit the cap floor there are other players they can get and probably get a greater return than what they would get for taking smith on.

I know this is tough to understand but you are missing the point almost completely. No one is gonna sign a UFA to a back loaded deal (since Smiths deal was frontl-oaded and now pays less cash on the back end), to game the salary cap now for a player of any real value. Smith brings value because he is a player that can still play on most teams 3rd pair AND his contract is salary cap scammy for any floor concern teams, and its an expiring deal. None of those benefits exist from a UFA signing.

Im saying if they have Igor healthy they might have a chance

a chance for what?

Lol I know what a front loaded and back loaded contracr is. There are plenty of players on the market that will sign for less than whatever you’d have to pay smith in real salary, and would take up less cap space, that will bring equal production to the team’s third pair. That’s all I am saying. The other teams’ best alternatives are more attractive than trading for smith, unless NYR give up another asset that is attractive with smith. Hence why I suggested georgiev. You’re trying to reason why a team should take on smith. I am only saying that the alternatives that exist out there are more attractive options. That’s it.

There will be enough third pairing defensemen out there that a team can sign to one year to play the third line instead of him.

LOL you literally are too obtuse to get the point that i am making. I ll try one last time as to why it has nothing to do with a min salary UFA signing. Smith has a $4.35m cap hit, but on 7-2-20 any team that acquires him only has to pay him $2.35m in actual cash salary. BUT HIS WHOLE $4.35m CAP HIT COUNTS TOWARDS HITTING THE CAP FLOOR. So if you are team (OTTAWA) who has to add almost $30M in Cap hits to hit the cap floor next season to be compliant, but will never spend an additional 30M in ACTUAL CASH, these contracts are exactly what you are looking for. And in looking at the others around the league, Smith has one of the better ones percentage wise on Cap hit to floor to actual dollars saved.

A) Relax no need to get hostile.
B) Name me every team that you think will need help getting to the cap floor, and I can easily find a better deal than trading away assets just to help getting to the cap floor. I can start working on Ottawa now if you'd like. Also, I can send out some feels to Ottawa fans right now and see how they feel about trading assets for Brendan Smith. I have already seen what some Red Wings fans think of him too. Here's a link https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/1662104.

I was not disagreeing with anything you were saying in the slightest. I think you made good points and I followed and understood everything you said; I am only saying I think it's unlikely that a team will trade for Smith, even if they are having problems reaching the cap floor. I simply believe GMs will think there are alternatives out there that are better off for them.

Two other points particularly about Smith and NYR:
1) He has a 10 team no trade list, and Canada has higher income taxes, so when you throw out a team like Ottawa, it may be unlikely to be approved by Smith, who wants to maximize his salary in his final year.
2) It's very possible that the cap only increases to $84 million, as many players would prefer not to pay back salary in escrow over the course of the next few years. I assume the NHLPA would be happy with that $2.5 million bump. If that is the case, NYR still have plenty of contracts to sign (Strome, Deangelo, Lemieux, just to name a few). It's possible NYR do not have a ton of cap space to work with to begin with. Therefore, all the leverage one would believe NYR would have with a team like Ottawa may diminish, simply because NYR are trying to get under the cap ceiling.

There are a lot of moving parts here, which makes me doubt NYR's ability to move Smith. Sorry if I seemed "obtuse" to you with my responses; I sometimes do not elaborate. And sorry if this is too long to read hahah.