Rangers add sand, grind, and growl when the free agency opens – and lay back when the Jack Eichel trading market tightens – The Athletic

Raise your hand if you’ve heard or read this before: The Rangers are trying to make a tougher team for the opponents.

True to that ideal, and with precious limited space actually available, General Manager and Team President Chris Drury signed four low-level bump-and-thump types on the first day of the Free Agency on Wednesday.

Not a big splash. No big buys. Nothing that will excite the fan base.

That’s not to say the day wasn’t an effective step forward. It could have been good. We will see. Obviously, the Rangers are trickier and snarling today than they were when we last saw them on the ice sheet.

Are you better? We shall see again. I think they are better prepared to face certain, but not necessarily all, opponents in the first 82 games; and certainly if they qualify for Game 83 and beyond.

Drury didn’t come home with Jack Eichel on Wednesday, and neither should one have expected. Several insiders actually found that the acorn competition has become silent, has practically stalled. With the costs of signing free agents across the league and the flat cap, teams could even be eliminated. Minnesota is out for the time being. You’d think Los Angeles could no longer afford Eichel’s $ 10 million cap hit, and neither could Philadelphia or Vegas. St. Louis could have Eichel under control … if it comes out under Vladimir Tarasenko’s $ 7.5 million cap hit.

The lack of applicants for Acorn could work in the Rangers’ favor, as Drury seems intent on adding it and then somehow dealing with the cap later – not to mention the young assets it will cost to give Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams win act.