The math was daunting.

The Rangers went into July 1 having approximately $11.7 million in cap space to fill eight spots on the varsity. That included restricted free agents K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere, for whom an approximate sum of $6.5 million needed to be set aside.

That left about $5.2 million for Chris Drury to go shopping for six items on the free-agent market. No, the general manager would not be having breakfast at Tiffany’s.

(Miller, of course, is back on a two-year deal for an average annual value of $3.872M. Lafreniere, mystifyingly, remains unsigned. As of now, there is no cause for concern. It’s merely a head-scratcher. But if this drags on another couple of weeks, it could become a headache.)

Drury targeted veterans who understood the historically tight market and were willing to sign short-term, low-cost deals right out of the hop.

That is how the club signed Blake Wheeler, Erik Gustafsson, Jonathan Quick, Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick, Riley Nash and Alex Belzile to contracts with NHL cap hits no higher than $825,000 apiece.

Wheeler is ticketed for a top-nine spot, Quick for the backup role behind franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Gustafsson likely goes into camp penciled in as the third pair left defenseman. Bonino and Pitlick are expected to hold down spots on the fourth line while Belzile and Nash compete for the 12th-13th forwards role.

These are the Rangers.

Except, approximately six weeks away from the opening of training camp, there is still a substantial number of unsigned unrestricted free agents out there who all but certainly will have to reset their expectations and accept the types of deals Bonino et al. accepted on July 1. Some may even have to take training-camp tryouts.

Which means there may be a new pool opened to Drury, unless he made verbal commitments to the veterans who signed for well less than the league average. If not, and if there are better affordable options out there at the start of September, the GM should act.

The Rangers are five contracts under the league-mandated maximum of 50 within the organization, so that is not a problem, nor is finding a place where he might look to add.

I don’t think this forward roster has enough hard edges to it. I don’t envision the Rangers being pushed around, but I don’t see much physical presence there. I don’t see a forward who would give pause to the opposition. I don’t see players who would arrive with — what did Fred Shero call it? — malice aforethought.

Zack Kassian is still out there. Austin Watson, flaws and all, is, too. So are the more skilled Anders Bjork and Colin White. Max Comtois is also available, though there are mixed reports about the 24-year-old who was not qualified by Anaheim at $2.55 million.

The team is set on the right side of the defense with Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba and Braden Schneider, but there is no organizational depth of which to speak behind that trio. Ty Emberson and Mac Holloway are the next two righties in line unless the team would move Zac Jones to his off side in case of an emergency.

So if Ethan Bear and/or Cal Foote is still without a contract early next month, it would not be the worst idea to attempt to sign either.

Want to catch a game? Tickets for all upcoming Rangers games can be found here.

The multi-dimensional Mika Zibanejad DJ’d on the second day of the Lollapalooza Stockholm music festival last month, doing a set list that included pyrotechnics. The audience included Chris Kreider, who spent the weekend in Sweden to join his brother from another mother’s party.

I caught up with Zibanejad at the Shoulder Check charity event in Stamford last Thursday and asked No. 93 how he would compare the rush of that experience with scoring big goals in the NHL, specifically with the five-goal game he had against the Caps at the Garden on March 5, 2020.

“Chris asked me the same thing,” Zibanejad said. “It’s like scoring the fifth goal.”

The recently signed Wheeler will wear No. 17 for the Blueshirts this season, joining a lineage that is not especially glorious.

Frank Boucher, who wore No. 7 for the first 11 years of his distinguished career while centering Bread Line wingers Bill and Bun Cook, slipped into No. 17 in 1937-38 when he became a part-time player while having been named an assistant coach and assistant GM by Lester Patrick.

No. 7 was given to Phil Watson, who became the club’s first-line center.

Boucher will not be listed in our No. 17 rankings. Neither will Art Coulter, who wore the digits for one season, or Bob Nevin, who wore No. 17 for the remainder of the 1963-64 season after being acquired from Toronto in the Feb. 22 deal in which Andy Bathgate went to the Maple Leafs before switching to No. 8 for the next seven seasons.

So, let’s rank the rest of those who have donned the number with the club:

1. Dean Prentice
   2. Brandon Dubinsky
   3. Dave Balon
   4. Jesper Fast
   5. Mike Rogers

Honorable mention: Eddie Johnstone
Mention: Lou Angotti