An interesting note on Duclair’s contract: Ordinarily, the contract would slide for a second straight season if Duclair returns to juniors, thus leaving him with the full three-year Entry Level deal to fulfill. But because Duclair did not sign his first contract until Jan. 6, 2014, thus missing the Dec. 31, 2013 cutoff date, the Rangers got only one “slide year†out of it.
Thus, even if Duclair returns to Quebec, the winger will have just two years remaining on his contract and would become eligible for restricted free agency in 2017. He will not, however, have salary-arbitration rights, which he would have held at the expiration of the three-year deal if it included two slide years. A management source told The Post that Duclair’s camp preferred it this way.
