The Rangers have put Barclay Goodrow on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
This move signals the likely end of Goodrow’s time in New York, either through a waiver claim, buyout, or trade. He has three years left on his contract with a $3.642M cap hit and a 15-team no-trade list.
Goodrow, now 31, made a name for himself with clutch playoff performances for the Sharks and Lightning. He scored the overtime winner for San Jose against the Golden Knights in Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in the third period. Later, he played an important role in Tampa’s back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021 .
Goodrow’s Contract and Performance
His success earned him a six-year, $21.85M deal with the Rangers after they got his signing rights from Tampa just before free agency opened in 2021. Initially, it looked like a good investment; he scored 13 goals and had 33 points with a +13 rating in his first season while playing nearly 17 minutes per game. But behind those numbers were warning signs. His strong possession stats from Tampa dropped significantly once he joined New York.
Over time, things got worse. His ice time and point production decreased over the past two seasons while his possession metrics continued to decline. This season was particularly bad; he managed to control only 39.1% of shot attempts at even strength, while the team controlled 53.2% without him on the ice.
Fans might think this news is disappointing but not surprising given his recent performance.
Current Season Struggles
This season’s stats were also unimpressive: four goals and twelve points over eighty games while mostly playing as a fourth-line center. Yet again, he showed up during playoffs with six goals and two assists in sixteen games but shot at an unsustainable rate of forty percent .
Now any team can claim Goodrow for free; however, due to his hefty contract remaining for three more years—an overpayment—it’s unlikely anyone will pick him up off waivers directly.
Future Options
Rangers’ GM Chris Drury might use this waiver process to explore trade options that could clear some cap space instead of straight-up buying out Goodrow’s contract which would save them only an average of $556K per year over six years but come with penalties later on according to CapFriendly data .
What do you think about this situation? Should they try harder to trade or just go ahead with buying out?
