July 1 is the NHL version of Black Friday. It's when the New York Rangers and the League's other 31 teams can open their checkbooks and go shopping – some at the high end of the free-agent market, others at hockey's equivalent of a dollar store.
But with the NHL salary cap guaranteed to rise by $7.5 million, to $95.5 million for next season, teams should have more money to play with this summer.
The Rangers have just under $12.2 million available, according to Puckpedia – though some of that must be saved for restricted free agents such as forward Will Cuylle . More than half of that space came from trading veteran forward Chris Kreider and his $6.5 million average annual value contract for the next two seasons to the Anaheim Ducks . The Rangers didn't get much in return, but they did more than double their previous cap space.
Barring a last-minute trade to free up more cap room, general manager Chris Drury may have to shop at the lower end of the market. But that doesn't mean he won't have options as he tries to get the Rangers back on the right track after they missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25.
Here's a look at five of the Rangers biggest free-agent successes in the past 25 years.
Related: New York Rangers 2025 NHL Draft tracker: Selection, analysis for each pick
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The Rangers hit a grand slam on July 1, 2019, when they got left wing Artemi Panarin to sign on the dotted line.
It is the best free-agent in their history. Panarin's recorded at least 89 points five times (his only miss was in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season), was an NHL First-Team All-Star twice, a Second-Team All-Star once and became the fastest skater to reach 500 points (165 goals, 335 assists in 384 games) with the Rangers, when he picked up an assist on Dec. 30, 2024. His 1.28 points per game are the most in Rangers history, and his 120 points in 2023-24 are the second-highest single-season total in franchise history.
Panarin didn't come cheap – his seven-year contract, which expires after the 2025-26 season, carries an average annual value of $11,642,857. But it's been money well-spent.
With one year left on his contract, Panarin and the Rangers must determine if they want to continue their relationship next summer, when the star winger will be 34. But there's no question that he's been their best free-agent signing in the 21st century.
Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Three years after signing Panarin, the Rangers found a center to go with him when they inked Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $5.625 million.
Trocheck hadn't scored more than 22 goals or put up more than 51 points in any of his four previous seasons before signing with the Rangers. But he' exceeded those totals in each of his first three seasons on Broadway, highlighted by a 25-goal, 77-point, plus-16 performance in 2023-24 – most of which was spent centering a line with Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere . That line was key in the Blueshirts winning the Presidents' Trophy as NHL regular-season champion.
He followed that by being arguably the Rangers best player in the postseason, finishing with eight goals and 20 points In 16 games, when the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three seasons.
Trocheck followed that by scoring 26 goals and totaling 59 points in 2024-25, leading the team with seven game-winning goals, finishing fourth in the NHL by winning 59.3 percent of his face-offs (minimum 300 face-offs) and stepping into a leadership role after captain Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in early December.
Getting a top-six center who can play in all situations, has leadership skills and is signed for four more seasons at a very manageable salary-cap hit is a definite win for the Rangers.
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The Rangers were looking for scoring when the free agent market opened in 2009. They found it in Marian Gaborik, who spent only three full seasons on Broadway but became one of just three players in team history to hit the 40-goal mark more than once.
Ironically, the greatest night of Gaborik's career had come against the Rangers. On Dec. 20, 2007, he became the first NHL player in more than 11 years to score five goals in a game; they came as part of a six-point night in a 6-3 win by the Minnesota Wild against the Rangers.
Less than two years later, Gaborik signed with the Rangers as a free agent on July 1, 2009. He wasted no time filling the net, finishing fifth in the NHL with 42 goals in 2009-10. Injuries limited him to 22 goals and 48 points in 62 games in 2010-11, but he stayed healthy the following season and scored 41 goals. He was MVP of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game when he scored three goals and assisted on another — and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.
Gaborik also earned a line in the Rangers record book that spring by scoring the latest playoff goal in team history. His goal at 14:41 of the third overtime lifted New York to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their second-round series.
But the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season was another matter. Gaborik never found his scoring touch and was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. One year later, the Blue Jackets sent him to the Los Angeles Kings , and his playoff-high 14 goals – the last two against the Rangers in the Final — helped them win the Stanley Cup.
Gaborik's time with the Rangers was relatively short. But his impact was undeniable.
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The 2010 Vancouver Olympics were a coming-out party for Mats Zuccarello, who excelled for Norway. His play attracted attention from NHL teams, and the Rangers signed the undrafted free-agent forward on May 26, 2010.
Zuccarello split the next two seasons between the Rangers and the AHL Connecticut Whale. But with the NHL headed for a lockout in the fall of 2012, he signed with Magnitogorsk of the KHL before rejoining the Rangers as a free agent on March 28, 2013.
Everything finally came together for Zuccarello in 2013-14. He led New York in scoring with 59 points in 77 games, establishing himself as a top-six forward. He also scored five goals and had 13 points in 25 playoff games — as well as becoming the first Norway-born player to skate in the Stanley Cup Final, although the Rangers lost to the Kings in five games.
Zuccarello became a reliable presence up front for the Rangers — as well as a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden, where "Zuuucc" became a popular cheer. He averaged 56 points from 2013-14 through 2017-18, including NHL career highs of 26 goals and 61 points in 2015-16.
After a slow start in 2018-19, the last year of his contract, Zuccarello came alive at midseason and had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) through 46 games. But the Rangers, in the midst of a rebuild, traded him to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 23, 2019. He's played with the Minnesota Wild for the past six seasons, averaging 66 points in the past four.
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The father of Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander was worth the wait for the Rangers, who signed the free-agent center to a three-year contract on Aug. 10, 2004. But he didn't make his debut with the Blueshirts until Oct. 5, 2005, because of the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.
Nylander had been a productive middle-six center for more than a decade in the NHL. Little did anyone know that he was about to have the two best seasons of his career.
Coach Tom Renney put the 33-year-old Swede between Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka. The trio formed one of the most productive lines in Rangers history for the next two seasons. Jagr set the Rangers' single-season record in 2005-06 with 123 points; he got lots of help from Nylander, whose 79 points were 15 more than he'd ever had. The Rangers, who hadn't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 1997, not only returned to the postseason but reached the 100-point mark for the first time since 1994.
Nylander was even better in 2006-07, setting career highs with 26 goals and 83 points. The Rangers again made the postseason and won a series for the first time in a decade.
The late-career surge drew plenty of attention in the summer of 2007, when Nylander reached free agency again. He rejoined the Capitals and played two more seasons before returning to Europe to finish his career – but never came close to those two magic seasons in New York. Though his time on Broadway was short, his impact was undeniable.
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