Barclay Goodrow on Waivers
Some expected yet slightly unexpected news just dropped this Tuesday Afternoon as the New York Rangers have decided to waive one of their six hundred Alternate Captains, veteran role player Barclay Goodrow.
Just confirmed with a source that Goodrow is being placed on waivers. #NYR wants to see if another team claims him, otherwise they can bury him and save $1.15M for now.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) June 18, 2024
Buyout period hasn't begun yet, but that remains a possibility, as well.
The timing of this is really the more surprising aspect of this news drop. Despite his postseason success, Barclay Goodrow was paid a high price for a whole lot of nothing throughout the season and with three years remaining on his contract (with trade protection) Chris Drury decided it was time to move on. While his role on the penalty kill as well as the fourth line was oftentimes under-appreciated, it's become clear that the Rangers are prioritizing cap space over what Goodrow brought to the table.
The question now becomes, what else is Chris Drury working on? You have to think there's a bigger picture in mind if the Rangers are purposely making him available (for free) to all 31 teams. If Goodrow gets claimed, the Rangers will have an additional $3.642 in cap space moving forward. If he goes unclaimed, which despite the iffy contract, I don't see that happening; the Rangers could bury his contract in the minors which would save them a little over $1.1 million for now. Once the buyout window opens, they could elect to buy out the remainder of his contract. This option would actually save them more room in the cap budget this coming season but would leave a buyout penalty on the books for the next five seasons similar to Brad Richards, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal etc.
If another team claims Goodrow, #NYR would save full $3.642M cap hit.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) June 18, 2024
If they end up buying him out, savings would actually be more next season ($3.89M), but it would come with lingering penalties for 5 seasons after that. https://t.co/g59y1RtpCL
The fact of the matter is, between Jimmy Vesey, Jonny Brodzinski, Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom, the Rangers have plenty of internal options for the fourth line and could always pick up cheaper reinforcements on the open market. Regardless of how this plays out with Goodrow, the Rangers will now have more money to spend in free agency and/or more wiggle room to make potential trades in the coming weeks. At any rate, it's refreshing to see Chris Drury and his team making some statements after another shortcoming in the postseason.