NY Rangers Struggling To Extract Much Value on Contracts

The New York Rangers revamped roster doesn't carry too many valuable contracts.

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Peter Carr/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers have completely overhauled their roster this offseason, looking like a more competitive and well-balanced group.

Team president and general manager Chris Drury deserves a lot of credit for upgrading the talent on the team. There have been a few missteps along the way, but overall, this is a group that will be able to compete at a higher level.

However, there is certainly some work that can be done by the front office to extract more value when negotiating contracts. That is why the Rangers are ranked as low as they are in the NHL contract efficiency rankings put together by Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic (subscription required).

New York comes in at No. 22, which, to their credit, means they are at least heading in the right direction. In the last rankings, they were No. 24. The St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks all dropped in the rankings to help push the Rangers forward.

Rangers making incremental improvements with contract efficiency

NY Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

To his credit, Drury has done a solid job of ridding the roster of albatross contracts, the kind of anchors that will keep teams from making moves in the offseason. 

New York had a good amount of cap space to use this summer; that’s why they could add Pavel Dorofeyev in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights and subsequently sign him to a seven-year extension worth $11 million annually. Or acquire Marcus Pettersson from the Canucks in a trade.

However, while the Rangers don’t have any truly bad contracts, they also don’t have many big winners. Defenseman Adam Fox is on an elite deal, especially with the rising cap, and they aren’t taking full advantage of it.

The contract that Alexis Lafrenière has is also excellent value. Those two combined have $24.1 million in surplus value; the rest of the roster combined has $3.9 million. Signing players to fair contracts is great for a front office, but they are leaving something to be desired.

Rangers have few major contract wins

Apr 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) celebrates his goal with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

New York doesn’t have a player whose contract grade was below a C-, which is a win. But there are only three highly graded players with a B+ or better, with Matthew Robertson joining Fox and
Lafrenière.

It will also be interesting to see how these deals age. Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller, two 33-year-old centers atop the depth chart, have positive positional value percentages and total surpluses right now; will that continue with each of them having four years remaining on their respective deals?

Only time will tell, as developing some youngsters will certainly help push the team up these rankings in the future.