October 23, 2024 | 2:00pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
RANGERS KEEPING OPEN LINES WITH LAFRENIERE, MILLER
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Alexis Lafreniere, forward
As the New York Rangers continue to navigate contract negotiations with superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin regarding an extension, the team has also remained in contact with some of their other key pending free agents.
Rangers GM Chris Drury has kept the lines of communication open between himself and the agents for Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.
Lafreniere and Miller are in the final year of their respective contracts and are eligible to become restricted free agents next July.
While an extension for either player is not believed to be imminent, as David Pagnotta explained in “The Latest” on TFP, all parties appear open to negotiations as the season carries out.
“You’ve got Alexis Lafreniere and you’ve got K’Andre Miller that need deals, as well, and they’re going to eat up a big chunk of the cap moving forward for the New York Rangers,” Pagnotta said. “Now, conversations with both have been, let’s say fluid; an open line of communications on both ends for both players. Nothing sounds imminent, at the moment.”
Lafreniere, who turned 23 earlier this month, is in the final year of a two-year, $4.65 million bridge contract, while the 24-year-old Miller is in the last year of a two-year, $7.744 million deal.
Pagnotta also noted that the Rangers understand the ballpark Lafreniere and Miller are going to get and that won’t hinder any of the dollars to get Shesterkin signed, and vice versa.
At the current $88 million salary cap figure, the Rangers have just over $28.937 million in space for the 2025-26 season without Shesterkin, Lafreniere and Miller inked to new deals. The cap is expected to climb to roughly $92.5 million next season, giving the Rangers another $4.5 million to play with, totaling approximately $33.437 million in cap space.