New York Rangers Links and Notes 10-17-16

Some news, notes and links to important New York Rangers stories from all over the web.

• Saturday night’s game was just what you wanted to see from the New York Rangers. We all know that their defense isn’t going to be that great this year and that in order to win a lot of games, their offense is going to have to carry them. If Carter Hutton wasn’t doing his best Patrick Roy imitation, the Rangers would have ended up embarrassing the Blues.

• This was the inverse of last season. Last year, the Rangers would not play well but still win games, this year, or at least in that game, the Rangers dominated for long stretches of time but still couldn’t get the win.
• The Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich line continued to be dominant. Teams really have no answer for a line with everything that they bring to the table.
• Now, it looks like the Jimmy Vesey–Derek Stepan–Mats Zuccarello line is beginning to get going.
• Vesey was flying Saturday night and it is looking to be getting comfortable in the NHL. It’s only a matter of time till he starts to find the back of the net.
• Although the Rangers dominated a shorthanded Blues team, not everything was fine and dandy as Dan Girardi missed long stretches of the game before being removed in the third period.
• Dan Girardi now has a hip flexor, and according to Alain Vigneault, Girardi’s status “More than day to day.”

• You never want to see a guy get hurt, so it’s an unfortunate way to lose Girardi. If anything, though, this will do what a benching would do until Girardi is healthy enough to return to action; get him out of the lineup.
• According to the Daily News, Dylan McIlrath will take over Girardi’s spot in the lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks with Kevin Klein (back spasms) unable to play.
• Getting McIlrath in the lineup is good news for the Rangers in every scenario. Firstly, McIlrath at this point in his career is a much better play than Dan Girardi is at this point in his career. Second, this is a great opportunity for McIlrath to grab the role by the horns and take complete control of it. Also, with all the trade rumors around the team starting to be relevant again, McIlrath playing and potentially playing well will help his trade value rise.

Trade Rumors

• Speaking of which, a lot of rumors began to fly around last night.
• It all started with a tweet by Arthur Staple, the Newsday Sports writer for the Islanders.

• This is a very intriguing bit of news for a few reasons.
• Firstly, Gordie Clark is the director of player personnel for the Rangers. Although he sometimes goes to games to watch prospects, you very rarely see him at an NHL game. The fact that Chris Drury, the Rangers assistant GM was there with him raises a few eyebrows.
• The Rangers have been long rumored to be interested in former first round pick Cam Fowler. Fowler has had an up-and-down first few years in the NHL. This has turned off some fans for the defenseman they have been rumored to acquire for years.

Next: Bold Predictions for the 16-17 Season

• The Ducks are looking for forward depth and need to clear cap space to do so, so I would assume the Rangers are looking at a guy like Fowler or Sami Vatanen. They would mostly have to give up a young forward in return, so if they do make a deal, it could be the end of J.T. Miller‘s Rangers career.
• The Rangers have also been linked to Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba, but Larry Brooks writes that the price they’d have to pay would be enormous.