Sports

Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes should have played last game as Rangers

The contract talks, not surprisingly, have gone nowhere. Hence, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes will be going somewhere by Monday. Until they do, they have played their last games. Or at least, that’s the call management should make prior to Thursday’s match at the Garden against the free-falling Wild.

It wasn’t necessarily the money, but rather the contract length asks that turned the negotiations with the players’ agents into non-starters, The Post has learned. Not only are extensions effectively off the table, the prospect of July 1 free-agent reunions are most unrealistic. When Zuccarello and Hayes go, you should expect them to stay gone.

Zuccarello, who agreed under some duress to a club-friendly four-year extension at the 2015 deadline, is believed to be seeking five years this time around. The 31-year-old probably will be able to get it on the open market on July 1, but that type of commitment is not viable for the Rangers. Hayes, who will turn 27 during the playoffs, is believed to be seeking six or seven years. That’s too much for the Blueshirts, who could have signed the center to a five-year deal over the summer but passed.





The market has been stagnant for days while teams seeking a center or winger wait for decisions in Ottawa regarding pending free agents Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, and in Columbus regarding pending free agent Artemi Panarin. The Jackets, interested in Hayes, are also interested in Duchene. The Jets, interested in Hayes and perhaps Zuccarello, would be in on Stone. The Predators, interested in Zuccarello, are waiting for a decision on Duchene. The Bruins, with interest in both Zuccarello and Hayes, would be in on Stone, if not Panarin. And so forth.

The Blueshirts have also received inquiries on Chris Kreider, with the Maple Leafs, Bruins and Predators believed to be three interested parties, but we’re told the winger is only available if general manager Jeff Gorton receives an offer he cannot refuse for No. 20. Thus far, no severed horses’ heads have appeared between the sheets.





Unless the Rangers are simply overwhelmed by an offer including a William Nylander or Charlie McAvoy, trading Kreider in addition to Hayes and Zuccarello would strip the team of three of its four best players (non-goalie division) with only Mika Zibanejad left behind to carry the torch.

Pending free-agent defenseman Adam McQuaid has drawn interest, as has Vladislav Namestnikov. Both could be of use to Tampa Bay. Which begs this question: Would it be better for the Rangers, who will get the Lightning’s first-round pick if Tampa Bay wins the Cup, to funnel depth pieces to Tampa, even if the return is somewhat less than Gorton could get from, say, Boston or Toronto or the Islanders?

My answer is, yes.





It would be a nice gift to the fans who pay the franchise’s freight to get to see Zuccarello and Hayes wearing the Blueshirt one final time for this match against Minnesota. But that gift would turn into a lump of coal should either suffer an injury that would impact his value on the market. The same goes for McQuaid. The Rangers held out both Rick Nash and Michael Grabner approaching last year’s deadline, the latter traded after sitting for one match and the former dealt after sitting out a pair of games. No one questioned the approach.



No one would question it this time either. It might be difficult for this group of players that has gone an improbable 9-6-1 since Jan. 12, but it would be much more difficult on the organization if Hayes (who, other than for a handful of shifts on the recent four-game trip that ended with Tuesday’s 2-1 victory in Carolina, seemed like he was already somewhere else) and/or Zuccarello get hurt in a contest with little meaning.

The reward for allowing them to play is imperceptible. The risk is significant. The Garden fans can pay tribute to Zuccarello and Hayes when they return with their respective new teams.





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