The Rangers completed their first transaction of the offseason by locking up Kaapo Kakko to a one-year, $2.4 million deal on Thursday, providing cost certainty for a player whose future with the organization remains very much up in the air. They followed that by waiving Barclay Goodrow on Tuesday, with the San Jose Sharks doing them a huge favor by claiming the remaining three years of a contract that pays the veteran forward $3.642 million annually.

Those tasks led off a long summer to-do list for team president Chris Drury, with the NHL Draft coming up quickly on June 28 and 29, followed by the opening of free agency on July 1. There are a handful of other items, as well, including negotiating with a couple key restricted free agents in Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider and trying to hammer out an extension with goalie Igor Shesterkin.

But before we proceed and preview what's to come, it's important to understand the current state of the roster. And in order to do that, we must sort through exactly how much financial wiggle room the Blueshirts have to maneuver.

Barclay Goodrow: What's next for Rangers after placing veteran forward on waivers?

In what has become an annual exercise, we'll go position-by-position and thoroughly analyze New York's salary cap situation. There's always the possibility that players under contract could be traded or bought out, but these calculations are based on where the Rangers stand at the moment of this writing.

The good news is, for the first time in five years, we have significant upward movement on the cap ceiling. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a flat cap for three straight seasons, followed by a modest $1 million increase last year. But commissioner Gary Bettman announced on June 8 that the 2024-25 salary cap will make a $4.5 million jump, from $83.5 million up to an even $88 million.

That provides important cushion for every team, with the Rangers among the 32 beneficiaries. They remain on the tighter end of the spectrum, especially if they're aiming for a bigger offseason splash, but there is ample space to retain their key RFAs and make at least another move or two.

There's a world where Drury could run it back with a similar lineup to the one that won the Presidents' Trophy and reached the Eastern Conference Final this past season while offsetting the losses of a few UFAs with up-and-coming prospects. But waiving Goodrow signaled he's got bolder action in mind.

Our current projection features 18 players who are under contract for next season, leaving only four or five spots for the Rangers to fill before hitting the 23-man maximum. The biggest holes are on defense, but re-signing Lindgren and Schneider would do the trick there.

Of the 18 players listed below, 17 finished the season on the active roster. The only addition we're anticipating is 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann, who's expected to compete for a job out of training camp. There are other young forwards who could be in that mix, as well, but consider Othmann an early front-runner and placeholder.

Based on that 18-player projection, here is the breakdown of how much money the Rangers have on the books and how much they have left to spend:

• Projected player salaries: $74,655,690

• Performance bonus overage: $512,500 (carried over from 2023-24)

• Total salary cap hit: $75,168,190

• Available cap space: $12,831,810

The important number to remember here is $12.8 million. That's about how much the Rangers have to work with after the Sharks claimed Goodrow, a sizable increase from the $9.2 million they would have had if they held onto the 31-year-old forward. They'll use that to fill the final four or five spots we discussed, whether it be through re-signing their own free agents, pursuing others on the open market or executing trades.

It's a better spot than they were in last year, when they entered the summer with 14 players under contract and only $11.76 million left to fill out the roster. And there's a chance they clear additional space, with Drury believed to be exploring salary-moving trades in his ongoing attempt to push the Rangers over the championship hump.

We'll lay some of those options out in the coming days, but let's begin with the starting point and go from there.

Forwards

12 under contract and projected for NHL roster, listed in order of average annual value

Left wing – 1. Artemi Panarin ($11.643M); 2. Chris Kreider ($6.5M); 3. Will Cuylle ($828,333); 4. Jimmy Vesey ($800,000)

Center – 1. Mika Zibanejad ($8.5M); 2. Vincent Trocheck ($5.625M); 3. Filip Chytil ($4.438M); 4. Jonny Brodzinski ($787,500)

Right wing – 1. Kaapo Kakko ($2.4M); 2. Alexis Lafrenière ($2.325M); 3. Brennan Othmann ($863,333); 4. Matt Rempe ($820,000)

UFAs – Nicolas Petan, Tyler Pitlick, Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg and Blake Wheeler

RFA – Bobby Trivigno

Next in line – Brett Berard ($867,500); Adam Edström ($846,667); Adam Sýkora ($806,667); Alex Belzile ($775,000); Anton Blidh ($775,000); Riley Nash ($775,000); Jake Leschyshyn ($766,667)

Breaking it down: The Rangers have typically carried 13 forwards in recent seasons, and with the Kakko contract done, it's feasible they could promote one more rookie and have their group locked in.

Unlikely, but feasible.

Waiving Goodrow opened at least one spot, with Drury expected to prioritize either a center or right wing. Ideally, he'd like to add both, which could push one of Brodzinski, Othmann or Rempe down to AHL Hartford. The other way to make room is by shipping established NHLers out, with Kakko among the leading trade candidates to free up additional cap space.

Expect Drury to use the money saved on Goodrow to acquire new blood, rather than retaining any of the UFA forwards listed above. The three who appeared in playoff games − Roslovic, Wennberg and Wheeler − are all expected to depart either via free agency or, in Wheeler's case, possible retirement.

It should be noted that Othmann and Rempe aren't the only prospects knocking on the door for an opportunity. The Rangers are high on Edström, who brings the size and physicality they covet for their bottom six and got an 11-game taste last season. Sýkora isn't far behind in that regard, either − albeit with less size, more hustle and speed − while Berard led Hartford with 25 goals and could also force his way up the depth chart.

All five of those prospects have a full AHL season under their belts, with a good chance at least one breaks camp with the NHL club. Their salary ranges are very similar, although Othmann comes with the potential of up to $450,000 in performance bonuses.

There's also the pending arrival of top prospect Gabe Perreault, who as of now is poised to return to Boston College for his sophomore season but could sign his entry-level contract at any point.

That's something to look forward to, but in all likelihood, the win-now Rangers will aim to fill at least one or two forward spots with more established acquisitions.

Defensemen

4 under contract and projected for NHL roster, listed in order of AAV

Left D – 1. K’Andre Miller ($3.872M); 2. Zac Jones ($812,500)

Right D – 1. Adam Fox ($9.5M); 2. Jacob Trouba ($8M)

UFAs – Nikolas Brouillard, Erik Gustafsson, Mac Hollowell and Chad Ruhwedel

RFAs – Ryan Lindgren, Matthew Robertson and Braden Schneider

Next in line – Vittorio Mancini ($870,000); Ben Harpur ($787,500); Connor Mackey ($775,000); Brandon Scanlin ($775,000)

Breaking it down: There's a bit more uncertainty here, with three of the Rangers' six regular defensemen in need of new contracts.

The top priorities are Lindgren and Schneider, with the former arbitration eligible while the latter is not. Their qualifying offers are $3.6 million and $874,125, respectively, according to CapFriendly, but it's safe to assume Schneider will come in significantly higher than that.

A rough estimate for their combined cap hit falls between $6 million and $7 million, which, based on our $12.8 million projection in available space, would leave the Rangers with somewhere in the $5.8 million-to-$6.8 million range to fill the remaining two or three roster slots. That should be enough to address some of their needs, whether it's at right wing, center or on defense. But it won't be enough to pursue the targets at the very top of the UFA market.

It's worth wondering if Lindgren is a player they'd consider moving for the right price. He's a beloved figure in the locker room and oozes the toughness both Drury and head coach Peter Laviolette want more of, but that rugged style of play has led to a lot of wear and tear. Health is an ongoing concern, which is why the Rangers should steer away from a long-term deal. But might they conclude his minimum $3.6 million price tag would be better spent elsewhere?

They won't have to make that decision if they can find a taker for the final two years of a contract that pays Trouba $8 million per season, which would open up all kinds of possibilities. But there are reasons to believe that will be a difficult task.

The other question facing this D corps is whether Drury will be comfortable moving forward with Jones as a regular on the bottom pair. He seemed to gain Laviolette's confidence while filling in for the injured Trouba and Gustafsson late in the regular season. There's a case to be made that he's earned the opportunity, with his cost-effective cap hit an added bonus.

The Rangers still may bring back Gustafsson on a cheap, one-year deal for depth purposes, but they could also look for a bigger, steadier defensive option on the open market. The fallback plan would be Harpur, Mackey or Scanlin as the seventh D, each of whom has been used in that role before.

Goalies

2 under contract and projected for NHL roster

Starter – Igor Shesterkin ($5.667M)

Backup – Jonathan Quick ($1.275M)

Next in line – Hugo Ollas ($855,000); Talyn Boyko ($850,833); Dylan Garand ($828,333); Louis Domingue ($775,000)

Breaking it down: There's not much to unpack here as far as next season. The Rangers have Shesterkin for one more year on a very team-friendly deal and took care of Quick with a one-year extension in March. Their AHL depth remains intact, as well, with Domingue and Garand waiting in the wings.

The only question is whether the Blueshirts can get an expensive extension done with Shesterkin this summer and spare themselves the drama of having their best player hit the UFA market next year.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers salary cap breakdown after Sharks claim Barclay Goodrow