Fox is gonna get 11M+ for 8 years.

Pick can't be top ten protected if you're only gonna give up Chytil and a first.

A crisp 7.3mil over the cap. Great effort in making this team.....

The kid is a die hard Rangers fan and doesnt want to play for any other team, I highly doubt he sticks it to the franchise like that.

I guess you seemed to miss the point of this post, you should maybe reread the title.

It is actually possible though. You didn't add the 1mil cap raise, and you signed Smith and Blais for no reason. Hertl is not worth 8.5mil. Don't sign those contracts, get Hertl a little cheaper, and it fits

I mean he could get 13M if he wanted to stick it to the team. 11M would be a discount. The cap is going to start going up again soon.

Marner is a die hard Leafs fan but that didn't stop him from getting every possible cent.

Not likely cap going up yet, havent seen anything different.

As far as Hertl goes, youre gonna tell me that a guy who is averaging 0.87 ppg and is well over 50% on faceoffs over the last 3 years doesnt deserve 8.5m per year?

With Blais, I doubt that the Rangers traded for him only to let him walk. I have a feeling Smith, one way or another, might end up with this squad due to Gallant.

yea but you also have to factor in what some of the younger defenseman are getting like Makar, Miro, Chabot etc. It's not like Fox is a UFA like Karlsson was where he can commend 11M 8 years on the open market. Plus, you do factor in that he is a hometown kid who wanted to come to the Rangers. He'll sign for a discount and I bet you it will be lower than everyone expects.

It's been fairly widely reported the cap is going up 1mil per year over the next several years

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/seravalli-nhl-salary-cap-projected-to-rise-to-82-5-million-in-2022-23/

The Rangers did not trade "for" Blais... they got a pick and a bottom six player to remediate their cap and top 6 winger issues. Unless they stay with Strome and make no upgrades to the center position, there's no room for Blais or Smith

For putting him in a 2C role on a winning team, I would get Hertl 7mil max. If he wants more he can play for Ottawa haha... Strome is getting the same point totals over the last two years and would be cheaper to sign

Probably 2 million per year too much for hertl

Fox won the Norris trophy. I don't think he's signing 8 years unless he gets paid. If he signs a 4 year deal he can still go for another contract at age 28. If he signs 8 years he'll be 32 and will be unlikely to get another big contract.

This could be what he ends up getting, I dont expect a top ten protection, maybe top 2

Strome may have similar numbers, however Strome doesnt backcheck nor his he a center you want in key situations. Im not saying Hertl is a defensive specialist, but his faceoff skills alone make him very valuable, plus hes decent defensively. Heres one major caveat, Hertl also doesnt play with Panarin.

At the end of the day, until 2024 rolls around, the contracts of Kreider and Trouba handcuff the Rangers pretty heavily.

A 1m rise in the salary cap isnt something thats going to tip the scales. It is however nice to see that things are trending in the right direction a year or 2 sooner than what people were expecting.

This is gonna be the true test of Drury...good teams (with good GMs) seem to be able to get their best players to buy into what they are doing...and thus take a discount, as opposed to chasing every last dollar- to the detriment of the team. Fox is a player who literally forced his way to NYR...hopefully Drury can get him to stay at a price less than he could achieve testing the market...even at a mild discount- that would do wonders for the team...and he'll hardly starve- while securing his future AND living his childhood dream. If he's hellbent on chasing max return....then trade him- for a haul. Same goes for all others...sorry- but it is a business.

I honestly think Fox could get closer to 12M or 13M on the open market; 11M would already be a mild discount considering you're only getting prime years.

As a Leafs fan- I'm sure you realize it's not a great idea to have more than a player or two making that kind of money...I'm sure Bergeron and Marchand could have squeezed more $ out of the market...as could Hedman, Stamkos, and even Pointe. As much as I like Fox...if he's looking for the kind of money you are talking, I'd look to move him.

If you sign him for 2 years he's probably looking at closer to 7M per year. If you're wanting to sign him for more than 4 years that will significantly compromise his chances of getting paid big on his next contract as he will be very close to his 30s.

That 11M+ figure is for an 8 year deal.

Even if the cap went up to 82.5M and you removed Smith + Blais (3.2M + 1.5M). It doesn’t cover the 6.2M difference and you’re at the 20 man roster. Why would Hertl sign for cheaper? Do you have pictures of him in Rag pajamas? He’d have to sign for roughly 6M to fit with this group and that would still involve player bonuses being pushed down the road.

Makar is 22...turns 23 in October...so his next contract starts when he's 28- yet most of that year will be at 29 yo.
I'd look to put Fox in the same type situation...a 5 year deal would have him starting his next contract at 29 and turn 30 5-6 weeks before playoffs.
If you model his deal on Makar's...look to lock him down now at something like 5 X 8.5...for sure that's a discount but he still will have another real good contract after that taking him into his mid 30's.

8.5Mx5 is a possibility though definitely more than a mild discount (remember Fox, not Makar, won the Norris and should be getting paid more). I find 8.5Mx5 a lot more realistic than 9Mx8 though. Signing an 8 year deal just doesn't really make sense for Fox unless he's getting paid a premium to do it.

My prediction for Fox's contract is 8Mx3. Keeping Fox an RFA so they can sign him for 8 years afterwards while keeping the cap hit on the contract down.

The point I'm making is Hertl really shouldn't be paid 8.5mil anywhere. That is just not his starting price. I was saying if he wanted more money than his going rate - which I would say is around 6-7million - he can play for a team that will overpay for him. The Rangers are just not in the position to pay 8.5million for a 2nd line center, without significantly overhauling their lineup or moving "immovable" contracts

Your post #6 you make sound like it’s possible (see below). What makes him a 2C? When I see that label I’m thinking who are the 30+ better centers? What comps are you using to justify that 6-7M range when guys like Couts just signed for 7.75M and Hertl owes no loyalty to NYR? I’ve already provided the math so even if you lowballed him like I said you’re not compliant. Strome isn’t remotely in the same tier as Hertl so of course you’d pay more for the superior player.

... the post says:

"Hertl is not worth 8.5mil. Don't sign those contracts, get Hertl a little cheaper, and it fits"

So where am I contradicting myself...?

Hertl is not better than Zibanejad. He is a 2C on this team. Outside of better faceoff stats (which is debatable to say "superior") I'm not seeing where Hertl is lightyears better than Strome

Couterier is widely considered one of the premiere two way centers in the league, and skates much closer to a point per game than Hertl does... so I'm curious why Hertl needs to make nearly a million dollars more per year than Couterier...? Team friendly deal or not

Entire post #6, which I quoted for easy reference. Hertl is better than Strome at everything if Breadman isn’t riding shotgun to inflate those numbers. Do you think Ken Holland would approach Draisaitl and say well hey man your a 2C behind McDavid so take less money? Seems logical to you?

.87 vs .91 PPG is negligible difference on a 3 year average. Hertl also isn’t a slouch defensively and where did I say he was worth 1M more than Couts?