New York Rangers Cap Space: Examining the Rangers salary in the offseason

The New York Rangers had little cap space to work with this offseason but have made plenty of nice depth signings.

After the first wave of free agency, the Rangers still have an estimated cap space of $6.175 million. However, they still need to sign RFAs K'Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere.

With limited cap space, New York has done well in the first wave. The Rangers signed Jonathan Quick to be the backup goalie. They also added forwards Blake Wheeler, Tyler Pitlick, Nick Bonino, Riley Nash and Alex Belize, as well as defenseman Erik Gustafsson and Connor Mackey. All of them signed for under $1 million each, which was key for the Rangers.

"Everyone in this business, agents and players alike, are aware of the limited cap space we do have and did have," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. "They do their homework too. Certainly, I'm biased, it was my life's dream to be a Ranger, but I think it's a pretty special place to play.

"We're fortunate that the players that we did sign today all wanted to be here and believe in what we're trying to do. We're excited to have all of them on board."

Rangers need to sign RFAs

With the New York Rangers having added depth players who want to win on cheap deals, it allows them to keep enough space to sign Lafreniere and Miller. However, there were some rumors that Lafreniere was on the trade block, which Drury shut down.

"There could be nothing further from the truth than that," Drury said. "I have not talked to one GM about Alexis. He's a real good young player and we think his best days are certainly ahead of him. We're thrilled he's a part of our team and hope he's a Ranger for a long, long time. So, that's a completely false report."

Miller, on the other hand, will cost a lot more than Lafreniere as he has been a key player on defense. Whether or not the Rangers will be able to afford him is uncertain, but Drury wants Miller to be a part of the Rangers for a long time.

"I'm not going to get into contract stuff, but we think the world of K'Andre," Drury said. "He's extremely talented, a terrific young player. He's been with the organization since the draft and we hope he's here for a long, long time."

Ultimately, New York has done all its heavy lifting with the depth signings and now just needs to sign Lafreniere and Miller.