Rangers 2023-24 Plans Should Include Motte & Goodrow

Goodrow’s $3.6 million cap hit is hardly the primary reason why the Rangers have only around $11 million in salary space this offseason, the last one of the (relatively) flat cap induced by the pandemic. Yet his contract, which runs through the 2026-27 season, is one of the few veteran deals that can be moved, given that Goodrow has a limited no-trade clause compared to the blanket no-move clauses held by several of his highly-paid teammates.

Dealing Goodrow, who can veto a trade to 15 teams, wouldn’t be easy. Yet even if the Blueshirts find a suitor, they should reconsider getting rid of a player whose value to a win-now outfit would be very difficult to replace.

Yes, Goodrow’s six-year, $21.85 million contract, signed on July 22, 2021 after general manager Chris Drury had acquired his restricted free-agent rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning, was exorbitant then and no less exorbitant now. For all of his versatility, Goodrow is ultimately a bottom-six forward, the type of player that contending teams can’t afford to have making relatively big money in the salary-capped NHL financial world.

Subtracting Goodrow Would Leave Rangers a Lesser Team

While Goodrow might be overpaid relative to his peers around the league, though, the Rangers would find their roster without him immediately lacking. Goodrow’s 24 goals and 40 assists over 161 games the past two seasons tell only part of the story: As with the Lightning, whom he helped to two Stanley Cups, Goodrow does the little things – defending, hitting, agitating, fighting, giving his team a spark when needed.

Those traits were exactly what Tampa Bay was looking for when they acquired him from the San Jose Sharks at the 2020 trade deadline in an effort to finally get over the championship hump. Goodrow did just that, playing a critical role on a formidable Lightning third line that helped to anchor back-to-back Cup winners, while in the process cementing himself as the type of player who’s essential for a team to make it to the top of the mountain come playoff time.

That fact that the Rangers paid too much for that element, compared to a Tampa Bay team that got his services on the cheap, doesn’t make those qualities and contributions any less valuable to a Blueshirts club that’s desperate to make a championship run with a highly-talented but flawed roster.

“That’s what Barclay Goodrow does for our team,” former Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said back in February 2022. “He makes every line better that he plays with.”

Can the Blueshirts afford to be without such a player as they look to make a run at the Stanley Cup?

Moreover, if new coach Peter Laviolette finally decides to forge a checking third line – something the Rangers have lacked over the past several seasons – how easily will he be able to do it without the jack-of-all-trades Goodrow, either centering the unit or playing on one of the wings? If the Blueshirts do away with Goodrow, won’t they need to go out and pay for a similar player who might cost less, but not be nearly as good?

The contributions of the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Goodrow, the sole survivor of Drury’s 2021 offseason attempt to bulk up the Rangers, go beyond his 200-foot game and intangibles. He acts as a security blanket who can be moved into the top six if need be, as he often did last season. Gallant used Goodrow on the top lines when he wanted a different look, better defense or more physicality.

On a team that continues to be desperately lacking for effective right wings, Goodrow’s Swiss Army Knife game allows him to fill that spot on any line. While he’s not a long-term solution on the top two forward units, the Rangers won’t suffer with him there, as Gallant said. Given the club’s precarious cap picture as it heads into another offseason looking to plug the holes on the right (again), Goodrow’s ability to step into that role would be sorely missed should he depart via trade.

Quite simply, the Rangers can’t afford to deal away Goodrow, regardless of the cap savings that would bring. He provides the type of championship element that Stanley Cup winners have demonstrated year after year is necessary to capture the chalice. On a roster loaded with high-end skill but nearly devoid of players such as Goodrow, he stands out as a must-have component for a veteran group hoping to win a title before their window of contention closes.

It’s easy to turn up one’s nose at the remaining four years of Goodrow’s deal. It seems unlikely that he’ll complete that contract in a Rangers sweater, though trading him is made more difficult by the fact that his actual salary over the next two seasons is $10.1 million.

The Rangers need cap room. They also need to think very carefully about whether subtracting Goodrow this summer is the optimal way to create it.

Rangers, Motte Remain a Perfect Match

The Blueshirts also have to ponder whether it’s worth allowing Tyler Motte to leave town again. Though he’s only played 55 combined regular season and playoff games in a Blueshirt, the pesky fourth-liner feels like a natural in New York. The Rangers seem to feel the same way, given that Drury acquired the 28-year-old for the second straight year at the trade deadline in March after choosing not to attempt to retain him as a free agent last summer.

The club should put an end to that pattern this offseason. Motte’s speed, forechecking and penalty killing would be an asset on any roster, but his contributions just seem more significant and appreciated at Madison Square Garden, where he became a fast fan favorite during the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022. Drury should find a way to get Motte re-signed, preferably for more than one year.

For Motte’s part, it sounds as if the feeling is mutual.

“It’s almost like you never left, a little bit. It’s a good feeling coming back and being around these guys,” Motte said through a smile after he was re-obtained Feb. 19.

” … I’m excited to be a part of it for sure.”

Like Goodrow, Motte brings qualities that the Rangers don’t have in spades: Strong skating, gritty and combative play, a disruptive presence in the offensive zone, adept penalty killing, a key goal here and there. The top-heavy Blueshirts roster is desperate for effective bottom-sixers to give them depth; the fact that Drury targeted Motte for two straight years means he clearly recognizes this. It’s time to make what seems like a natural relationship more permanent and not let Motte get away for a second time.

If Laviolette is indeed looking for that shutdown third forward unit in 2022-23, he could do worse than to re-create the Motte-Goodrow-Jimmy Vesey unit that served as the fourth line last season after Motte returned to the Big Apple. The trio put together solid numbers in 24 regular-season games, posting an expected goals for mark of 51.9 while generating 84 scoring chances for to 79 against. Most impressively, the Rangers had 49 high-danger chances for to 30 against when the line was on the ice at 5 on 5.

Having shown the ability to keep opponents pinned in their own zone with forechecking quickness and energy, it stands to reason that the Rangers would benefit greatly from a full season of the Motte-Goodrow-Vesey line as a matchup trio against opponents’ top forward units.

Motte Might Come Cheaper for One Last Offseason

While cap space is tight, the Rangers could have afforded the one-year, $1.35 million pact that Motte signed with the Ottawa Senators last summer after he failed to receive a significant multi-year offer. With the cap expected to rise only $1 million for 2023-24 before starting to go up significantly again in the coming seasons, the Rangers have an opportunity to retain the kind of valuable role player whose hopes for a richer long-term deal have been squeezed by the flat cap over the past few seasons.

Unless Drury enjoys giving up assets year after year for the same player he obviously covets, hammering out a reasonable contract – the Rangers can’t afford to give Motte a Goodrow-type pact, of course – for someone who’s beloved by the fan base and plays inspired hockey wearing a Rangers sweater seems like better business.

The Rangers are facing, and will continue to face, significant challenges in re-signing key players – both this offseason and for the foreseeable future. Doing away with the type of role players needed to produce a championship and subsequently being left with nothing but stars, though, isn’t a recipe for success. If the goal for this win-now roster is to chase the Stanley Cup next season, it’s going to be considerably more difficult to do so without Goodrow and Motte.