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.
