In a summer where John Tavares is the headliner in NHL free agency, which starts Sunday at noon, the Rangers will be searching the free-agent pool several levels below Tavares’ level, scouring the bottom half of the market in an effort to bring in some footnotes — veteran guys who GM Jeff Gorton hopes will be able to teach his young roster how to play the game the right way.
For Gorton, though, the free-agent signing period won’t be just about signing free agents. Gorton is looking to build the right kind of roster by all the means he has at his disposal.