Welcome to The Hockey Writers’ 2023 Free-Agent Target series for the New York Rangers. During it, we will be looking at a handful of free agents from NHL teams who the Rangers should consider signing this summer.
In this edition of the series, we will be focusing on the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have some pending unrestricted free agents who could be of interest to the Rangers’ roster needs. Let’s discuss them now.
Tomas Nosek
Tomas Nosek gained appreciation from Bruins first-year head coach Jim Montgomery during the 2022-23 season. The forward played on the bottom six for the organization at the center spot on the fourth line. If Rangers president/general manager (GM) Chris Drury signs the forward, he will have a more affordable option for a center than current forward Barclay Goodrow, who New York may trade this summer to create more cap space.
During 2021-22 and 2022-23, Nosek had a cap hit of $1.75 million for the Bruins, which is more in line with what the Rangers should be paying forwards who play on their fourth line. The Czechian native can play at the left wing position as well, which is where he played when he could not take faceoffs while recovering from a broken foot during the regular season.
Previously in January, Montgomery commented on the value Nosek brought to the Bruins, “He’s a really tough player. He builds our game really well from our goal line right through to their goal line. We think he’s invaluable so that’s why [he keeps playing].” The 30-year-old forward has posted a good faceoff winning percentage throughout his career. His average is 54.70 percent, which is better than Goodrow’s percentage of 50.30 percent. During the 2022-23 regular season, the Boston forward had a faceoff winning percentage of 59.30 percent.
If the Rangers trade Goodrow and want a more experienced forward to play on a team-friendly deal for at least one year, GM Drury should consider signing Nosek. New York has some younger non-roster centers who will earn less than the Bruins forward in 2023-24. Karl Henriksson ($870,000), Ryder Korczak ($859,167), and Jake Leschyshyn ($766,667) may be given a chance in training camp to make New York’s opening night roster as the fourth-line center if they move Goodrow this summer. However, Nosek’s tenaciousness could be the kind of player New York needs more of.
Connor Clifton
The Bruins will need to make tough decisions on what players they do not re-sign such as Connor Clifton. They enter the offseason with only $4,937,500 in available cap space. The 28-year-old defenseman is coming off a three-year deal in which he had an average annual value of $1 million.
According to Scott Roche of The Hockey Writers, Clifton improved offensively with Montgomery as the Bruins’ head coach. He had five goals and 18 assists in 78 regular-season games compared to two goals and eight assists in 60 contests in 2021-22 under former coach Bruce Cassidy.
Roche writes that Clifton’s strengths this regular season were in plus/minus (plus-20), blocked shots (120), and hits (208). Despite his good play during 2022-23, he struggled during the first-round series against the Florida Panthers, playing in only three of the seven contests. He did not do well in plus/minus (minus-4) during the series including finishing with a minus-3 in Game 6 on April 28.
During the Bruins’ team exit interviews on May 2, Clifton mentioned in regard to returning to the Bruins next season on a new contract, “That’s right. I love it here. Me and (Sweeney) had a good talk this morning in our meeting. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”
The Rangers are set on the right side of their defense with Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, and Braden Schneider. However, they could look for another blueliner to increase their depth in case of an injury. They do not have many non-roster defenders that play the right side except for Ty Emberson. Many of their non-roster defenders are restricted free agents as well. New York could agree to a deal with Clifton for up to two years with an average annual value (AAV) of between $1-1.9 million.
Garnet Hathaway
The Hockey Writers‘ Tom Castro and Michael DeRosa have written that Garnet Hathaway could be a forward the Rangers consider signing this summer. DeRosa cites Hathaway’s toughness as a reason New York should sign him to a contract. New York has lacked toughness consistently over the last few seasons from their forwards. Ryan Reaves helped but the club traded him to the Minnesota Wild during the regular season.
Related: 5 Value Free Agents the Rangers Should Consider
DeRosa wrote that Hathaway is known for his strength on the penalty kill and that he could be a replacement for unrestricted Tyler Motte if the Rangers do not sign the 28-year-old winger. Hathaway is coming off of a four-year, $6 million contract with a $1.5 million AAV. GM Drury may sign him to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million or a multi-year deal with a similar AAV to his previous contract.
Castro noted in his piece that the Rangers lack a forward of his size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds), particularly in the playoffs. He is the kind of pesky winger that is troublesome for the opposition due to his playing style. He can contribute offensively on occasion as well. Hathaway had 13 goals and nine assists for the Washington Capitals and Bruins this year.
The Rangers will be in the market for depth players due to their limited cap space this offseason. The Bruins have even less available cap space and may not be able to bring back all of their affordable unrestricted free agents. New York could pursue and agree to a team-friendly contract this summer with one of these three players.
*Advanced statistics provided by Natural Stat Trick.
