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I think I've talked about this before but let me bring it up again because... well why not
My sense is the whole "Rangers gonna have to eventually pay the kids, though" sentiment is, while valid, not the ticking time bomb many seem to think it is
My sense is the whole "Rangers gonna have to eventually pay the kids, though" sentiment is, while valid, not the ticking time bomb many seem to think it is
It's not as if Rangers are instantly in cap hell as soon as the ELCs wear off. Will it be an issue eventually? Yes. But there isn't an Armageddon looming in 2023 or whatever
Fixture 1: Rangers need to figure out there center situation. Everything from extending Zib to trading for a center. Whatever. That's a whole bag of long-term variables that's basically the next short-term shoe to drop
Fixture 2: More or less, the summer of 2024 stands to be a pretty large inflection point. Kreider & Trouba, who some ~18% of the cap alone, shift from 'immovable' to 'movable'. Whether its trade (their full NMCs become partial NMCs) or buyout (the math starts to become tenable)
Fixture 3: It's no certainty that Kakko & Laf immediately get their $6-$10m/yr contracts right off their ELCs. For better or worse the team can (and probably will) bridge some players. Who knows but it's not like all the prospects go from ELC pennies to peak realized $ instantly.
Fixture 4: We'll see what happens with the salary cap. It's stuck at $81.5m now and next year; but 3-5 years from now who knows where it will be.
Fixture 5: Trades & depth. Trades really can dramatically shift the landscape of any team's cap situation at any given time. If/when Rangers trade off their surplus depth (wing, RD) for what they need (C, LD) the whole equation can radically change.
In short: I've really gotten the sense that "what happens when the prospects' ELCs expire?" is sort of a boogeyman. It's a legit concern. And Rangers will likely be coaxed into some hard choices down the road. But it is hardly knocking at the door any time soon.
/thread
/thread
P.S.: @FitzGSN_ has informed me that this is what I sound like https://twitter.com/JasmineLWatkins/status/1349374100930768899
