Now that Monday’s trade deadline has passed, the current Rangers are nearly unrecognizable from the group that reached the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Only franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, veteran defenseman Marc Staal, power forward Chris Kreider and energetic wing Jesper Fast remain from the 2014 Eastern Conference championship roster.
And that’s perfectly fine. It’s rare for teams to stay largely intact for five years, and the ones that do have raised Stanley Cup championship banners to the rafters. Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes were popular Rangers and for good reason. They earned the full respect of Ranger teammates and made a strong connection with the fan base – but neither were A-1 talents.
That’s not to diminish what Zuccarello and Hayes accomplished for this franchise. But the Rangers have possessed few genuine offensive superstars since Rick Nash’s 42-goal season of 2014-15. Mika Zibanejad is the first Ranger forward to reach those heights, and his point-per-game (62 points through 62 games) season for a team that’s in tear-down mode is an incredible testament to his impressive two-way talent and driven nature.
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The Rangers need a few more Zibanejads. Keeping hold of Zuccarello and/or Hayes wouldn’t have been the answer. It would have been a desperate cling to the past.
Zuccarello and Hayes have the work ethic and skill to make an impact on their respective new clubs – but the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets are far ahead of the game compared to the rebuilding Rangers. At present, the Rangers are very far from being playoff contenders.
What the Rangers need is fresh blood and new faces to end a 25-year Stanley Cup championship dry spell. They’re going to have that chance to draft and acquire A-1 talents given their ample cap room, their five picks in the first two rounds of the 2019 draft and several NHL roster talents that can be moved for more picks and/or prospects and in turn, create even more cap space.
General manager Jeff Gorton will need to carefully decide which route to go. The patient route could possibly involve three additional years of non-contention and a focus on the AHL-to-NHL pipeline.
It’s going to be tempting to be aggressive in free agency, especially given this summer’s loaded class. Erik Karlssson is the most talented defenseman of his generation and phenomenal, 1.17 point-per-game wing Artemi Panarin will command megadeals. Want a genuine leader whose totally-committed effort and iron will can set the tone for the way an entire team plays? Wayne Simmonds is your guy.
I know Simmonds just landed in Nashville, but if David Quinn wants a talented presence that gets everyone to buy-in to the effort level he demands – look no further than Simmonds. Get him in a Ranger sweater on July 1 and affix a captain’s ‘C’ to the front of his uniform. He’ll make the boys go.
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But going all-in on free agency would be a radical departure from the no-shortcuts plan that’s guided the Blueshirts since Gorton and Glen Sather penned a letter to fans last February.
The Rangers’ destiny will be shaped by Gorton’s hand in a crucial summer. He could stick to the patient approach, deviate from it by going bold in free agency or making a splashy trade – or accelerate the rebuild through a hybrid approach.
Loyal Garden goers can only hope that Gorton’s decisions this summer will eventually result in the real thing. He’s going to be under pressure to make the right calls at the draft table, in free agency and when the phone rings with a rival GM’s number.
This summer will be the most important summer in recent memory for the Rangers. Getting it right could push this franchise one step closer to the ultimate goal, but a few missteps could turn the rebuild into the “Dark Ages – Mark II” and no Blueshirt diehard wants to see a repeat of a seven-year playoff drought.
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