Rangers have some free-agent chips ahead of NHL draft

DALLAS — Jeff Gorton was not really entertaining the idea spewed by a few outsiders that the Rangers aren’t fully committed to this rebuild. Instead, the Blueshirts’ general manager made it very clear on the eve of the NHL entry draft Thursday night that the focus is strictly on the future, just as it has been since the infamous letter to the fans back on Feb. 8.

“The draft, you think about the future,” Gorton said after he left the GM meetings. “If so be it and somebody ends up on our team next year, that’d be great next year. But we’re trying to find the best players for a long period of time. So I think in particular for [Friday] for the draft, we’re thinking about the future, not this season.”

Mind you, it’s not as if Gorton is going to turn his phone off and plug his ears when offers are coming his way. For the first time in a long time, the Rangers are actually stocked with draft picks, starting with three in the first round.

It starts with No. 9 overall, the pick they earned for missing the playoffs this past season for the first time in seven years. They then move on to No. 26 (from Boston in the Rick Nash trade) and No. 28 (from Tampa Bay in the Ryan McDonagh-J.T. Miller trade). Gorton also has two apiece in both the second and third rounds, taking place Saturday morning, with those seven picks holding quite a bit of value on the draft floor when GMs start getting antsy about losing players that they have targeted.

“We’re going to investigate everything,” Gorton said. “That’s what the job is, that’s what we want to do. If there’s an opportunity to get a player and the price wasn’t too high, then we’re going to look at it.

“But for anybody that would be skeptical of the rebuild, all you have to do is look at the last several of months and the trade deadline and some of the things we’ve done. I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re trying to get a lot of young players and assets and we’re trying to get better and give these players opportunity.”

In addition to all the draft picks, Gorton has a bevy of young, restricted free agents who could draw quite a bit of interest, especially if they are part of a package. That starts with 26-year-old center Kevin Hayes, who is coming off a two-year, $5.2 million deal that carried an annual cap hit of $2.6 million. At 6-foot-5, Hayes is a presence down the middle, with hands and vision that would make him a good supplemental piece on a good team. He also embraced the role as a shut-down pivot this season under former coach Alain Vigneault, showing a versatility that had been previously lacking.

The other RFA likely to be dangled is Vladislav Namestnikov, who was underwhelming once he came over from the Lightning and was taken away from the line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. At 25 years old, his numbers — 22 goals, 48 points — might get someone to bite on his upside.

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The best RFA the Rangers have is 24-year-old defenseman Brady Skjei, but even coming off a disappointing sophomore season, it would likely take a very good return for him to be offered in any package.

Surely Gorton also will listen to offers for the remaining members of that restricted group, Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Vesey and John Gilmour, but their outside value might not add up to what their (affordable) potential with the Rangers could be next season. Gorton said every restricted free agent was given a qualifying offer except minor-leaguer Adam Tambellini.

With rookie NHL head coach David Quinn set to take over, this is a major year of transition for the Rangers. And what Gorton does over the next two days will continue to show his focus on the future of the organization.

“A lot of opportunity to make our team better for the future and build [with the] pieces that we need,” he said. “It’s a vital time for us.”