With rookie camp well underway and the start of preseason on the horizon, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury expressed his confidence in where the club stands — in terms of the salary cap and personnel — heading into the 2022-23 season.
Aside from continuing to explore potential professional tryout contracts for a veteran defenseman and tying up loose ends with the 22-year-old Nils Lundkvist, who The Post’s Larry Brooks reported is seeking a trade and not planning on attending training camp, the Rangers essentially have their team and are ready to begin weighing their lineup options.
The ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup is the same, but the high expectations are new. The Rangers have a tough act to follow after taking the back-to-back championship Lightning squad to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final last season. Other than Ryan Strome’s departure in free agency to the Ducks, a majority of the Rangers’ core is back and looking to build on last season’s playoff run.
“I think we got a lot of talent and a lot of guys that are hungry,” Drury said after the second day of rookie camp at MSG Training Center on Thursday. “You have that combination, I think it sets yourself up to have some success. You do need breaks, you need help along the way, but I think we’re in a good spot to hopefully try and achieve our goals here.”
The Rangers will be pushed up against the cap for the foreseeable future, which makes the groundwork that Drury lays down now all the more important. The second-year president and general manager didn’t rule out the possibility of carrying less than 23 players on the roster to ensure the club is cap compliant, but it sounds like it’ll all depend on how training camp shakes out as their lineup begins to take shape.
Drury added that he’s comfortable with the number the Rangers are at now regarding cap space. It’ll be important for the Rangers to have some breathing room going into the season if they want to make a move or two at the trade deadline, which proved to be a crucial part of last season’s postseason run.
As a result, filling out the rest of the lineup internally is an appealing option — but not necessarily a necessity. Defenseman Zac Jones is one of the top internal options for the final spot on the blue line, along with Libor Hajek, who is entering his fifth season with the Rangers.
“We certainly like where his game is at,” Drury said of Jones. “He’s played some games. He had a good summer, offseason training. Looks like he’s put on some weight and some strength. We’re excited to see what he has, not only this weekend, but come main camp.”
The cap’s dictation of Drury’s moves was evident this offseason, with the unloading of Patrik Nemeth’s $2.5 million cap hit to the Coyotes and the signing of Ryan Carpenter to a veteran minimum of $750,000. Plus, the Rangers signed a familiar face in Jimmy Vesey to a PTO.
Should the former Blueshirt impress during training camp, having Vesey on a PTO gives the Rangers the flexibility to see how the rest of the roster pans out before they commit to a dollar figure on a contract.
“Obviously, we know him, we’re familiar with him, he’s familiar with us,” Drury said. “Guys who play here you tend to track probably a little more and our guys, meaning our scouts, had a lot of interest in him coming in. I think where he’s at in his career and the things he was able to do really well for Jersey last year, excited us.
“Bottom six, big guy, physical player, had a really good year on the PK, so get a chance here to show us what he can do.”