Of course, we have to wait for formal ratification of the CBA before we can really start to talk about the Rangers situation and where they go from here, but we can take a quick look at where they are right now.

The Rangers currently have six players under contract for the 2005-2006 season: Jaromir Jagr, Bobby Holik, Darius Kasparaitis, Michael Nylander, Dale Purinton, and Jason Strudwick. When you take the 24% rollback into consideration, their salaries equal $21,698,000.

As John Dellapina writes in today's Daily News, the Washington Capitals agreed to pay $4 million dollars of Jagr's salary in that trade. Supposedly, the Rangers will only take a $4.4 million dollar cap hit on Jagr's contract. (Conversely, the Capitals portion of Jagr's salary will not be charged against their cap, but it will be included in league-wide overall player compensation.)

So that means the Rangers' payroll right now is $17,298,000. You probably know by now that this CBA includes a one-time buyout provision whereby a team can buyout a player for 2/3 of his remaining contract (after the 24% rollback). There has been a lot of speculation that the Rangers could buyout both Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitis, which would clear approximately $10 million dollars off of the payroll.

However, I came across this article from the Toronto Star where writer Ken Campbell gives us a possible twist on the buyout scenario:

"If a player has just the 2005-06 season remaining on his contract, he can be bought out at two-thirds of his salary without it counting against the cap. If his contract extends beyond next season, a portion of the buyout in subsequent years will go against the cap. That will hamper the New York Rangers if they want to buy out Bobby Holik or Darius Kasparaitis."

Both Holik's and Kaspar's contracts extend beyond this upcoming season. This could result in the Rangers taking a cap hit on the buyout in 2006-2007, which might be dangerous as there is the possibility that league-wide revenues drop, thereby lowering the maximum salary cap level.

So while it sounds like a good idea to clear that $10 million now, it could turn out that the the Rangers get charged close to $7 million dollars (2/3 of $10 million) in 2006-2007 with NO players to show for it.

So what do the Rangers do with them? I have no idea. There is a very strong likelyhood that the Rangers end up keeping the big three (Holik, Kasparitis, and Jagr), and just build around them. The Rangers would have about $21 million to spend if they do not move to buy anyone out. Still though, Holik remains the most likely to go, because he makes more than Kaspar, and has fewer years left on his contract, thereby minimizing the cap penalty in future seasons.

Anyway, this is all really speculation, as we don't have confirmation of the specific terms of the buyouts (or the CBA for that matter). But there is no harm in trying to get a jump on it. It's a lot more fun than talking about meetings.

Meanwhile, the Rodent is going over some draft lottery odds. It isn't looking too good for the Rangers in the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes. Unless the fix is in, of course. The Rodent also confirms Larry Brooks' report that Karel Rachunek, possibly the most NHL-ready player acquired in last year's fire sale, will not return to the Rangers this year.

The Hartford Wolf Pack officially announced that Jim Schoeneld will take over as head coach of the team. Former Ranger Ulf Samuelsson and the recently retired captain Ken Gernander will join him behind the bench. Former Wolf Pack assistant coach Nick Fotiu will join the Rangers scouting staff as a professional scout.

Enjoy the weekend.

HDH

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