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Thoughts on the 5 year Will Borgen contract extension


The big news this weekend came seemingly out of nowhere, as the Rangers extended defenseman Will Borgen for five years. Given the rumors regarding how long Chris Drury was targeting Borgen, the trade and the extension shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. In fact, the biggest surprise may have been in Borgen’s impact. As per usual, I have thoughts on the Will Borgen contract.

The Will Borgen contract is fine, but has some sticker shock

1. I have to be honest, my first reaction to the Will Borgen contract was questioning the $4.1 million cap hit. It came with some sticker shock, as hinted to above, since $4.1 million seems like a lot. It’s actually quite the opposite, coming in around 4% of the projected $95 million cap ceiling. Spending 4% of the cap on a second pair defenseman is fine.

2. Perhaps some of the sticker shock is because, before the cap ceiling announcement, we have been conditioned to expect minimal cap increases. The pandemic really shifted things for four years, and we are finally seeing things level out for the players. This matters, as the Will Borgen contract, much like the Igor Shesterkin contract, will have a much smaller impact than initially estimated.

This may seem like an overpayment, but it’s not.

3. Part of the sticker shock on the Will Borgen contract is related to the no-trade protection. Borgen, 28, will have full no-trade protection for the first two years of his contract (age 29, 30). It then reduces to a 10 team no-trade (age 31), then a 6-team no trade (age 32), then no protection at all in the final year (age 33).

The Rangers have been burned by no-move and no-trade clauses (see: Trouba, Jacob). This isn’t something to be concerned about with Borgen. There was a good reply to me on Bluesky from @moonmanmichael:

I like the way Mike put this. This is essentially a two year contract extension, and then an extended “show me” contract. If Borgen isn’t a fit with Peter Laviolette’s successor–remember, Lavi only has one year left on his deal–then it’s easy to navigate 10 team and 6 team no-trade clauses.

Like with the cap hit, we have some sticker shock on no-trade clauses in the Will Borgen contract. But this shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Famous last words, though.

On Borgen’s impact going forward

3. Reactions to the Will Borgen contract were mixed, as expected. While most were in the sticker shock category, lumping in both cap hit and no-trade protection into that, there were others concerned about Borgen’s play and how this extension came after just 17 games.

To address the latter concern first, there is risk in re-signing a guy who has played just 17 games with a new team. But there is also risk in re-signing a guy who’s been there for 5 years. There’s risk in every long term contract. There’s risk in every short term contract.

4. Before this season, Borgen was a steady defenseman with a regular role. I haven’t been able to pinpoint why Borgen was regularly scratched in Seattle this year, and those I’ve asked don’t seem to know either. That appears to be more of a blip than a trend.

As we’ve pointed out for most of last week, Borgen’s impact to the Rangers has been solid. He provided a steady presence for K’Andre Miller, who looks back on track. Miller started the season off fine, but was horrendous for a while when paired with Jacob Trouba. Miller hasn’t been perfect and it was important for him to get back on track.

If anything, the Will Borgen contract is worth it just for Miller’s rebound. Good teams are more than the sum of their parts, and though Miller-Borgen may not jump out at you as a solid pair, they are punching well above their weight class right now, and doing so effectively.

5. There are two skills that Borgen brings to the Rangers that they lacked: Speed on the blue line, and first pass zone exits. The Rangers, prior to the trade, had decent to good skaters and only one or two guys that could effectively move the puck out of the zone against good teams. Borgen addressed both needs, and the Miller-Borgen pairing has seen an overwhelming majority of defensive zone starts against top competition.

They’ve answered the call by limiting high danger chances against and being more than a glass-and-out pair. They actually move the puck up the ice and finish many shifts in the offensive zone.

6. The Will Borgen contract may age poorly, and that’s an expected risk with any player signed into their thirties. The good news is he’s easy to move if things go south. The Rangers have been in desperate need of an upgrade on the blue line for years, and Borgen has given them just that. With the Urho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider pair beginning to stabilize as well, the focus can shift to a true 1LD when Ryan Lindgren is moved.



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