NHL Rumors: Elliotte Friedman expects Rangers to go flex their 'financial muscle' this offseason, links $42,000,000 Jets star

The New York Rangers could be a busy team this summer. On Friday, on an episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman said the Rangers are expected to use their financial strength in the offseason. He mentioned Nikolaj Ehlers as one player who could be a target.

Friedman talked about offer sheets and said that teams can’t front-load contracts like they could in the past. But signing bonuses and contract structure can still make things difficult for other teams. Friedman said (35:45 onwards):

"The Rangers have the financial muscle to make that uncomfortable for other teams.

"If they don’t land someone in free agency — say, Sam Bennett (who many expect to return to Florida), Mitch Marner, or Nikolaj Ehlers — offer sheets could be an avenue."

Ehlers just finished a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. This season, Ehlers had 24 goals and 39 assists for 63 points in 75 games. He also scored five goals and two assists in eight playoff games.

Friedman said that if the Rangers miss out on free agents like Sam Bennett or Mitch Marner, they could look at Ehlers:

"Ehlers will become a hot target for teams that miss out on Marner."

Marner is expected to head to the Western Conference if he leaves Toronto. That makes Ehlers more likely to be a focus for teams in the East, like NYR.

Ehlers has played 10 seasons with the Jets. He was drafted ninth in 2014. Scoring-wise, his best season was in 2017-18, when he had 29 goals. Injuries and limited ice time have kept him from reaching 30 goals in a season. In some years, he was scoring at a 37-goal pace before missing games.

Friedman also mentioned other New York Rangers players

The New York Rangers missed the playoffs this season, after winning the Presidents' Trophy in the 2023-24 season. As a result of this, they have changed their head coach to Mike Sullivan and are also planning some other big roster changes.

Elliotte Friedman also talked about two current players. He said that the Rangers don’t seem eager to sign K’Andre Miller to a long-term deal. Second, regarding Alexis Lafreniere, Friedman said multiple teams pushed back on the idea of trading for him.

The analyst compared it to the time when people thought William Karlsson could be traded, but teams said otherwise:

"I've heard they don’t want to give K’Andre Miller a long-term extension, which is why his name keeps popping up. As for Alexis Lafrenière, I’ve gotten serious pushback from multiple teams."

The Jets might still want to keep Ehlers, but with free agency coming soon, other teams like the NYR will be ready to make offers.