Rangers Sign Justin Falk to One Year Deal
Three down, two to go...
The Rangers have signed both Carl Hagelin AND Justin Falk today leaving only Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan as the remaining RFAs on the team.
Justin Falk in at $975,000 for one year with Rangers.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) July 10, 2013
Most predicted that Falk, 24, would sign for ~$1 million which is just where he came in. That he only signed a one year deal isn't terribly surprising. Falk will almost certainly serve as a third pair option or the 7th defenseman for the Rangers this upcoming season. He was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Benn Ferriero and a 6th round pick on June 30th.
So how much cap space do the Rangers have to sign Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello?
#NYR are really knocking out the contracts this week. Now just Zuccarello and Stepan left. $3.3 million left in cap space.
— Bryan Winters (@BTW892) July 10, 2013
The exact cap space is $3,330,833 but that number is bigger if the Rangers bury Powe and/or Asham in the minors. It's going to be very, very interesting to see how much Derek Stepan demands at the negotiating table and how much cap space that leaves for Mats Zuccarello. The Rangers are in discussions with Zuccarello now and are hoping to avoid it heading to arbitration. Derek Stepan is not eligible for arbitration. We'll just have to see who signs first and how the numbers work out but, in my opinion, I think the Rangers will manage to bring both Zuke and Stepan in under the cap.
Falk is one year, $975k... Zuccarello-Rangers discussions continue today w hope of avoiding arbitration
— Pat Leonard (@NYDNRangers) July 10, 2013
