Ryan Callahan Agrees To Three-Year Deal With New York Rangers

The New York Rangers have officially completed the signings of all five of their restricted free agents, as Ryan Callahan and the team came to terms on a three-year deal worth $12.875 million. Unlike Brandon Dubinsky's contract, the Rangers didn't go to the last day to get the deal done, but they did wait until about the 24th hour.

The Rangers will pay Callahan $4 million in each of the first two years and $4.825 million the last year. The deal will count $4.275 million against the salary cap, and according to CapGeek, the Rangers have $685,000 in space available. A buyout period starts at midnight Wednesday, but as Andrew Gross of The Bergen Record notes, no players are expected to be bought out.

The 26-year-old Callahan had a career-high 23 goals and 25 assists in 60 games while suffering a broken right hand and broken ankle that cut his season short. He figures to be the leading candidate to be the Rangers' next captain as he exemplifies the two-way, forechecking and shot-blocking style of play that coach John Tortorella has taught his group. He's also always been a stand-up player on and off the ice.

With Callahan now signed, the Rangers have a solid nucleus in place for many years.

Jesse Spector of The New York Daily News even says: "The Rangers' window is open." The competition is stiff, though, and of course, only time will tell. (Check out Jesse's blog post here as he makes some very valid points.)

New York Rangers Sign Brandon Dubinsky To Four-Year Deal

Entering this offseason, the New York Rangers sought a first-line center and also needed to sign five of their own restricted free agents. Early Thursday, they’d officially checked off five of those priorities, signing valuable two-way left-winger Brandon Dubinsky to a four-year, $16.8 million contract — just hours before he was due to enter an arbitration hearing.

Nothing is worse for a team and an integral player than arbitration, where the team often says a player is worth marginally lower than what the player is asking for … and must present its reasons why that’s the case. Going to arbitration also means the Rangers would’ve had to relive the negotiations with Dubinsky in two years. The fact that the Rangers avoided this whole thing is a victory in itself.

Another benefit to this contract is that the Rangers keep someone who could be considered one of the most important players on the team — and at 25-years-old, seems to only be improving. Dubinsky led the Blueshirts with 24 goals and 30 assists last season, but more notably, he played in all situations and was one of the few players that coach John Tortorella trusted at all times. He was also one of the better penalty killers on the team. Plain and simple, Dubinsky may not have the offensive game to be a top-line player, but he is very difficult to play against because he’s relentless, isn’t afraid to bang bodies and get dirty to win pucks and score goals. His maturation has been admirable, as he’s become a core member and a player who embodies the style this team has grown into under Tortorella.

With Dubinsky signed, the Rangers now have approximately $6.5 million left to sign right winger Ryan Callahan and potentially a veteran sixth defenseman. There is also another buyout window after Callahan gets signed, which the Rangers may need to give them some in-season flexibility.

Now, the focus shifts to signing what many consider to be their captain-in-waiting.

Brian Boyle Agrees To Three-Year Contract With New York Rangers

The New York Rangers re-signed breakout center Brian Boyle Thursday afternoon to a three-year, $5.1 million contract, avoiding arbitration and making him the third of their five integral free agents to be signed this offseason.

The 26-year-old exploded onto the scene with the Rangers last season, recording 21 goals and 14 assists -- both career highs. Coach John Tortorella did not expect him to make the team of of training camp, but Boyle impressed with an improved skating ability, a concerted effort to use his body more and a return of his college/AHL scoring touch. Even though he played in 71 games two years ago, Boyle only had six assists, and was often just a big, 6-foot-7, 244-pound body that was taking up space, rather than using his body to his advantage. Last year, he led the team in hits and constantly blocked shots.

With his improved play, came what every player wants: more ice time. If you don't play responsible two-way hockey for Tortorella, you will ride the pine, and Boyle parlayed his great defensive efforts into a prominent role on the penalty kill unit (as well as also being used on the power play). His ice time nearly doubled last season from a year a go to 15:44.

Boyle made $550,000 last season. It remains to be seen where Boyle will fit in with so many centers (Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan, Brad Richards, Erik Christensen, Mike Rupp) in the fold, but Boyle will certainly be a key contributor.

With Michael Sauer and Artem Anisimov also signed, general manager Glen Sather can now turn his focus to locking up two core members in Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky.

New York Rangers Re-Sign Michael Sauer, Artem Anisimov

Heading into this offseason, the New York Rangers had a laundry list of items to complete: find a No. 1 center to pair with Marian Gaborik and sign a all five of their restricted free agents. Day two of free agency, the Rangers accomplished the signing of Brad Richards and by Friday afternoon, they'd signed two of their young free agents, Michael Sauer and Artem Anisimov.

Early Friday, the Rangers inked 23-year-old defenseman Sauer to a two-year deal worth $1.25 million a year. He made $500,000 last season.

Sauer was a second-round pick in 2005 who spent three years with the Rangers AHL team and was on the brink of being a bust because of injuries at the lower levels that hampered his play, but last year he really impressed in training camp and he broke out in a big way. Sauer become a dependable second-pair defenseman with Ryan McDonagh. The physical 6-foot-3, 220-pound Sauer had 15 points in 76 games last season.

Anisimov was signed to a two-year deal worth $1.875 per year. A very nice deal considering, Anisimov could've received offer sheets from other teams as he wasn't arbitration-eligiable.

Anisimov has seen a slow but steady progression at the NHL level. In his second season, the 23-year-old improved in every facet of the game, tallying 44 points (compared to 28 in his rookie year), while scoring 18 goals (compared to 12) and 26 assists (compared to 16). More importantly, he began to earn the trust of John Tortorella as he developed more defensive responsibility and often played some on the penalty kill. Anisimov was one of four players to play in all 82 games for the Rangers.

The Rangers have $11 million to sign Brian Boyle, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan right now.