So after messing around on cap geek earlier today, I realized that next year will definitely have some cap room. Now I understand if you dont use it you lose it, but we need to be considerate of our future.

Next year we will most likely have a very similar roster. I had the rangers resign Dubinsky and Callahan for $3.5 mil, Anisimov for $1.8 mil, Boyle for $1.3 mil, Gilroy for $1.1 mil, and Sauer for $1.0 mil. I had the Rangers let go of Fedotenko in favor of Kolarik, but the salaries are very similar so its almost a moot point. Now, if you believe I under of over paid a player please let me know.  

FORWARDS

Sean Avery ($1.937m) / Erik Christensen ($0.925m) / Marian Gaborik ($7.500m) 

Wojtek Wolski ($3.800m) / Derek Stepan ($0.875m) / Mats Zuccarello-Aasen ($1.750m) 

Brandon Dubinsky ($3.500m) / Artem Anisimov ($1.800m) / Ryan Callahan ($3.500m) 

Chad Kolarik ($0.800m) / Brian Boyle ($1.300m) / Brandon Prust ($0.800m) 

/ Chris Drury ($7.050m) 

DEFENSEMEN

Marc Staal ($3.975m) / Daniel Girardi ($3.325m) 

Ryan McDonagh ($1.300m) / Mike Sauer ($1.000m) 

Matt Gilroy ($1.100m) / Michael Del Zotto ($1.087m) 

GOALTENDERS

Henrik Lundqvist ($6.875m) /Martin Biron ($0.875m) 

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $55,075,000; BONUSES: $1,487,500

CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $4,325,000

THESE movies leave the rangers with $4.325 mil in cap space. While we need to keep in mind salary increases for many of our young players, having Drury's $7 mil come off the books next year should take care of all of that and more. The more I think about it, the more I am against bringing in Richards. He's already making 7.8 mil, so we know he's not going to sign for anything less than $7.5. Now this is close to impossible without either letting dubi/cally go or buying out Drury. I would be comfortable buying out Drury and signing Richards, but that would leave us at the cap ceiling with no wiggle room. I do understand how good of a player Richards is, and I do understand how good of aPP QB he is as well, but I am not comfortable being that close to the cap ceiling without any expiring large expiring contracts that will provide us with cap relief. We would I assume have Wolski being replaced by Kreider and drury's buy out cap hit lessening, but is that enough to keep the young core signed? Also beyond that, in 3 years I dont want to be in a position where we have two 30+ year olds tying up 15+ mil in cap space.

With that extra room, why not bring in a good defensive player? Possibly one who could QB the PP? Than next year when Drury's contract runs out will have 7+ mil in cap space to resign our young players to long-term contracts and improve our team. Id feel more comfortable having a few mil at the deadline to play with to improve the team going into the playoffs.

There are multiple defensemen out there that fall in the 3-4 mil range that can benefit this team greatly. 

Take a look at these names. Are you guys interested in any of them? What do you guys think of this idea?

Players                                                       Position           Team         Age                            Current Cap Hit

Edit: Richter1994 brought up a point about upgrading the 1st line center position with a Stephen Weiss level instead of Brad Richards. Thats move also fits here, and we could potentially buy out Drury, sign or trade for a more cap friendly center, and preserve some cap space for the future.