NHL free agency season is on the horizon, and it appears the organization is linked and interested to former New York Islanders center Brock Nelson.![Brock Nelson with the Avalanche]()
Nelson was traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the NHL trade deadline earlier this year but failed to win a Stanley Cup as the avalanche were defeated against the Dallas Stars in the first round.
Nelson would have a homecoming of sorts
It was clear that Nelson was unable to be effective with the avalanche as he had a poor performance and the team will be unlikely to re sign him going forward.
In seven playoff games, he scored no goals and had four assists and was a + 2 and played in average of 17 minutes and 50 seconds of ice time.
Through 80 games this season, he scored 26 goals with 30 assists for 56 points and was a + 8.
Having been drafted by the Islanders back in 2010, first round 30th overall Nelson is quite familiar with the area and would likely welcome a return to New York if New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury offer him a contract.
The Rangers are looking for a different look next year and adding Nelson at 33 years old will certainly put him in the second- or third-line center role.
There is much speculation onto what will happen to players like Chris Kreider who may be on his way out of the organization.
Several organizations will be calling Nelson's camp
The 2025 free agency pool is not the deepest in the past several years and players like Nelson will receive multiple calls an offer from other teams.
Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs who are going through their postmortem after being defeated in Game 7 on Sunday evening by the reigning Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers.
Many questions lie around what the Maple Leafs will do including their center John Taveras who has now become available through free agency. Players like Nelson may be another option if the Maple Leafs wish to walk from Tavares.
It's safe to say that the Rangers will be monitoring both Nelsons camp and Tavares' camp as both players could become available for the Rangers to make a run with an offer.
Free agency is set to begin on July 1st at 12:00 PM eastern and it will be an exciting time for many teams including the Rangers.
