New York Rangers’ 3 Best Contracts for 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are always a team that tries to spend as close to the salary cap as possible. While they have had issues in the past giving out bad contracts, the way their money is allocated right now has left them in a pretty good position. Most of the money is going toward their top stars, while the rest of the roster is filled out by young players or veterans not making much at the NHL level. Here, we’ll go over their three current best contracts (this will not include players on entry-level contracts or players who signed deals on other teams who were then traded to New York).

#3: Alexis Lafreniere — Year 2 of 7 Making $7.45 Million

It is safe to say that Alexis Lafrenière has not lived up to the hype after being drafted first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. In 462-career games, he has scored 116 goals and recorded 250 points. You would like to see better numbers from a player drafted first overall, but his lineup usage by three different coaches early in his career affected his development, and he now looks more like a good top-six player rather than a franchise star many thought he could be. Despite all of this, last season saw him take a step in a positive direction, especially after Artemi Panarin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.

In 82 games last season, Lafreniere scored 24 goals and recorded 57 points to match his career high. He became one of the team’s best offensive players after getting top-line minutes and top-unit power-play time on a consistent basis. He formed great chemistry with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, with that line looking like one of the best in the league in the second half of the season. If he is able to build off of what he did last season and turn this season into the best of his career so far, this contract is going to look like a steal for years to come.

#2: Vladislav Gavrikov — Year 2 of 7 Making $7 Million

With how much players, especially defensemen, are getting paid in the world of the rising salary cap, it seems like the Rangers got a steal when they signed Vladislav Gavrikov to this contract last offseason. Many thought he would get more than this, especially when a similar player, fellow free agent Ivan Provorov, got $8.5 million per year for seven years from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers Gavrikov to be their top-pairing left-handed defenseman, and he was supposed to be a solid shutdown defenseman. However, they got more from him last season than anyone was expecting, especially on the offensive side.

Prior to last season, Gavrikov’s career high in goals and points were six and 33, respectively. In his first season with the Rangers, he scored 14 goals and recorded 35 points in 82 games. That’s impressive especially considering he didn’t even get to play with his projected defensive partner for a good portion of the season due to the player being injured. Heading into this season, the team should not be expecting him to score as many goals as he did last season, but for his defensive to remain strong and for him to be one of the NHL’s best shutdown defensemen.

#1: Adam Fox — Year 5 of 7 Making $9.5 Million

The best contract goes to a player who is quickly becoming one of the more underrated players in the entire league. Adam Fox is by far the Rangers’ best defenseman on both sides of the puck, and his $9.5 million cap hit should be higher given how important he is to the team. He and Gavrikov were supposed to be the team’s top pairing last season, and they did play well together when Fox was healthy. Unfortunately, Fox missed significant time due to two separate injuries last season, which limited him to 55 games. He still scored nine goals and recorded 53 points, but for the past two seasons now, many around the league are questioning if he is still a top five or even a top-10 defenseman in the league.

As the above JFresh Hockey card shows, Fox is still one of, if not the best, defenseman in the NHL. Just because he can’t skate like Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes, and just because he can’t score goals like Zach Werenski, doesn’t mean he’s not impactful in his own way. He uses his high Hockey IQ to make the best and smartest plays to get out of his own zone and to create offense for him and his teammates. We all saw how bad the Rangers were when he was out last season, so his value should not be in question anymore. It’s time fans and league executives start putting more respect on his name, because the criticism he’s been getting is ridiculous.

Rangers Looking for Bounce-Back 2026-27

The Rangers are looking to have a bounce-back 2026-27, and these three are going to be key to any chance of getting back to the playoffs. Even with how good their contracts are, if they don’t play up to the level many are expecting them to, the Rangers could go right back to being one of the worst teams in the league this season.

The Rangers have a window of contention with the roster they have constructed and the contracts they are on. These three players have the best deals on the team currently, and they could look even better going forward with how much the salary cap is rising and how much other players worse than them are going to make.