This is the time of year when the hockey world generally shifts its attention to family excursions, beach vacations and golf handicaps, with this writer no different. But in between those summer activities, I find my mind drifting back to the sport we love.The slower pace of things allows us to consider topics that often get lost in the hustle of the season. I usually tackle a couple of projects, most notably our upcoming New York Rangers prospect rankings, which we’ll begin rolling out on Aug. 24. I also enjoy using the downtime to update and experiment with the spreadsheets I like to nerd out over. The resulting depth charts and salary cap figures are constantly referenced in our stories, but the focus tends to be on the present. So, I thought this would be an appropriate moment to look a bit further down the road.The 2026-27 Rangers are essentially set. Team president Chris Drury is keeping an eye out for opportunities to add another forward, but we can envision what the opening-night lineup will look like on Sept. 29 in Boston. However, projecting ahead to 2027-28 leaves much more room for interpretation.My current projection has only 11 surefire NHL players under contract for a collective cap hit of $78.593 million. With the cap expected to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28, that would leave New York with roughly $34.9 million available — and while that may sound like a lot, it can evaporate quickly when half the roster needs to be filled.The New York Rangers are in limboVincent Z. Mercogliano and moreLet’s have a little summer fun and examine all the variables in play.