Price Check: Tye Kartye

Welcome to Price Check, a Blueshirt Banter series looking at the New York Rangers’ pending free agents and what it might cost to keep them. The salary cap keeps climbing, fewer players are reaching the open market, and the Rangers’ projected cap space for next season will go faster than it looks, so how president and general manager Chris Drury handles this group could shape the roster for years. In each installment, we break down one player’s performance, role, and comparable contracts to project what his next deal might look like, and whether that deal should be signed in New York at all.

An undrafted, 6-0, 197-pound left winger from Kingston, Ontario, Tye Kartye came from the Soo Greyhounds and signed with the Seattle Kraken during their inaugural season. Kartye immediately made his mark in the AHL, as he finished his first full season of professional hockey with 57 points in 72 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

That would become his first and only full campaign in the AHL, as he remained with the Kraken for the majority of the next two seasons, during which Kartye averaged roughly 16.5 points. His production and ice time dropped in the 2025-26 season, as he had eight points in 40 games with Seattle prior to hitting waivers. After joining the New York Rangers, Kartye gave this team a boost of energy in a bottom six role and finished the year with 14 more points in 24 games in New York.

Performance to Start the Season  

Heading into this season, Kartye was expected to be a bottom six forward. With most of us expecting either Oliver Bjorkstrand or Will Cuylle to take the open spot in the top six, Kartye was projected to cement a role on the fourth line, third at the absolute most. Against all odds, Kartye has seemingly become that missing link in the top six and has slotted in seamlessly alongside J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafrenière. Through the first 11 games of the season, he has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points.

The thing that helps Kartye stand out so much is the honest game he plays. He's not a guy who is going to blow you away with any raw skills, but he is a guy who's going to play hard on the forecheck, lay out to block shots, kill penalties, and do all the little things that make a big difference. He's always going to finish checks, skate hard, and make the smart defensive plays without compromising the offensive side of the game.

Part of why he works so well on that second line is because he's often the first one to the puck to help set up Miller and Lafrenière. It's no secret that those two are a key part of this team's offense, and having a guy like Kartye on the line who can help bring out their best is extremely important to the overall success of the team. Lafrenière's goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning here was a perfect example of that.