New York Rangers Best, Worst and Undetermined Trades

New York Rangers Biggest Hits, Misses and Yet to be Determined Trades

Some of the biggest trades for the New York Rangers have come within the last five seasons, and have changed the core of the team, arguably, for the better.

New York Rangers Best Trading Years: 2012, 2013

2012:

• Brandon Dubinsky
• Artem Anisimov
• Tim Erixon

2013:

• 1st round pick for Rick Nash
• Steven Delisle 2013 conditional 3rd round pick

Trading Dubinsky was a smart move in order to make room for Rick Nash, who has become a vital part of the New York Rangers offense. Nash has put up strong seasons since his arrival in New York and led the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 2014. However, he has received some criticism for not playing up to his full potential. Overall, Nash has been a positive for the team and has been the driving force for the changes that have been made to the Rangers offense over the last five years.

Artem Anisimov played four years with Columbus after this trade now plays for Chicago. Trading him to make cap room for Nash was smart and Anisimov was easily replaced by the core forwards already on the roster the following season.

The conditional third round pick that the New York Rangers received during this trade was used to draft Pavel Buchnevich who they signed to an entry level contract this past May. Buchnevich is currently seen as one of the team’s top prospects this coming season.

Other noteworthy 2013 Trades:

• RW Marian Gaborik, D Steven Delisle and D Blake Partlett to Columbus for;
  • C Derick Brassard
  • RW Derek Dorsett
  • D John Moore
  • A 2014 sixth-round draft pick.

Marian Gaborik played a few good years for the Rangers and greatly contributed to their offense. However, the Rangers released Gaborik at the right time. He no longer fit the Rangers offense after they picked up Rick Nash from Columbus in 2012, and Gaborik’s production on the ice plummeted.

In the 2011-2012 season, Gaborik played 82 games for the Rangers and totaled 41 goals and 35 assists and was +34. In the 35 games he played for the Rangers in 2012-2013 he was off to a slow start with 9 goals, 10 assists and was -8. His poor numbers continued in Columbus the following season, but over the past two years, the 34-year-old has done alright for himself, winning a Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2014.

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Beyond this, the New York Rangers traded two prospects that still have not seen any time in the NHL.

The Rangers were the winners in this trade as it allowed them to change the face of their team and the way they play their game. Brassard is a player that has become vital to the Rangers franchise, and will continue to be until he finishes out his contract in 2019.

Moore was also a strong pickup for the Rangers at the time, adding a young face to a somewhat more veteran defense. Moore played two solid years for the Rangers before moving on to Arizona and New Jersey.

Dorsett, who now plays for Vancouver was not worth holding on to after the season he played for the Rangers, but picking him up was the right move in terms of having the ability to trade him away. The Rangers also ended up trading away the draft pick they received in this deal to Minnesota.

A Not too Shaby 2014

• Ryan Callahan for;
  • Marty St. Louis
  • 2014 conditional 2nd round pick
  • 2015 1st round pick

This was one of the most heart wrenching changes for the Rangers as they traded away a player that they had drafted in the first round almost a decade earlier. Callahan had played his entire professional career with the New York Rangers and was serving as captain for the team at the time.

Trading for Martin St. Louis was something that fit the Rangers “win now” attitude they have carried over the past few seasons. St. Louis ended up being a huge part of the Rangers’ 2014 Stanley Cup run – the death of his mother during the second-round of the playoffs was something that helped inspire the team as they came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Penguins and earn a trip to the Stanley Cup.

The following season, St. Louis posted 21 goals and 31 assists for a total 52 points, but it was no surprise to see the 39-year-old retire when the season ended.

Meanwhile, Callahan will play out the rest of his prime on a division rival’s team.

Boyle and Stralman released in offseason

On top of this, Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, two UFAs that both expressed interest in returning to New York at the end of the 2014 season, were denied and ultimately ended up with their former captain in Tampa.

Though this was probably the right decision in the moment due to cap issues and an effort to make room for younger players. Boyle’s size and impact on the penalty kill alongside Stralman’s ability to control the puck and his reliability in the defensive end are things the Rangers have missed since they moved on.

Kevin Klein for Michael Del Zotto

Perhaps the highlight of all action in 2014 was the pickup of Kevin Klein from Nashville. Klein was one of the strongest defenders for the New York Rangers over the past few seasons and was a solid trade for Michael Del Zotto.

Del Zotto was drafted by the Rangers in 2008, had an outstanding rookie year in 2009 but had trouble ever really living up to his play in proceeding seasons. Though he is a good skater, he historically has been known to make mistakes with the puck. After a season in Nashville, Del Zotto was traded to Philadelphia, but has not posed much of a threat to his former team like the players in Tampa have over the last few seasons.

The Rangers made sacrifices to win a cup with this trade, and they still fell short.

2015 was Full of Miscues  

While some positives did come out of these moves, a majority of the Ranger’s decisions were questionable in during the 2015 season and in the offseason.

Positive Trades:

• Cam Talbot and 2015 7th round pick for 2015 2nd round pick, 2015 3rd round pick and 2015 7th round pick
• Acquired G Antti Raanta from Chicago for F Ryan Haggerty
• Traded 2017 pick for Magnus Hellberg
• Traded Lee Stempniak for Carl Klingberg

The decision to trade Talbot and pick up Raanta, the trade of a pick for a prospect, and trading an aging forward for a young yet experienced winger was a smart one.

Cam Talbot was strong for the New York Rangers last season, and it was a good move to trade him after such a strong showing. Raanta was a great replacement and had a strong showing behind Henrik Lundqvist this season, and hopefully we will see more of Raanta next season.

On top of this, the trade for Magnus Hellberg, a prospective goalie for the New York Rangers, for a 2017 sixth-round draft pick still has yet to play out, but the Swedish goaltender was strong for the Hartford Wolfpack as he topped 50 games for the first time in his career and was 29-20-3 with three shutouts and had a 2.40 goals against and .918 save percentage.

Finally, the trade for the aging, but still dominant Stempniak, who has been traded almost once a year since his first three years in the NHL was a good move by the Rangers, as they picked up Klingberg who is known to be aggressive in all three zones but remains in position despite his physicality.

Another noteworthy trade:

• Anthony Duclair, John Moore, 2015 2nd round pick, 2016 1st round pick for;
  • Keith Yandle
  • Chris Summers
  • A 2015 4th round pick

The choice to trade away Anthony Duclair and John Moore for Keith Yandle and Chris Summers truly shows ingrained the “win now” mentality is within the Rangers management. Duclair will likely become vital in Phoenix over the next few seasons, but luckily he will be bothering more teams in the Western Conference than he will the Rangers.

Keith Yandle was and still is a great pick up, proving that he is a strong offensive defenseman, which the Rangers offense needed. Despite this, he can be inconsistent and irresponsible. While Yandle’s 42 assists, 68 blocks and 27 takeaways this season are strong statistics, it does not forgive the 91 giveaways that he allowed. This trade cost the Rangers a young forward who could have been a core player within a Rangers offense struggling to create identity on the bottom two lines, it makes you question the decision.

John Moore played well in his two and a half great seasons for the Rangers, and was with them for a Stanley Cup run was a great pick up at the time, but, unfortunately, was dispensable.

Elite Prospect describes Chris Summers as a strong skater and a smart player but is not someone who particularly stands out on either end of the ice. This means that he is reliable because he doesn’t take too many chances, which may benefit the Rangers defense at some point. Summers has played in six games for New York, and has zero points, 13 hits 6 blocked shots and one giveaway.

Miserable Judgement:

• F Carl Hagelin and the 2015 second and fourth-round draft picks to Anaheim for;
  • F Emerson Etem
  • A 2015 second-round draft pick

The trade of forward Carl Hagelin to Anaheim backfired when they couldn’t implement the speedy forward onto their offense and traded him to the Penguins. In a recent article by Larry Brooks for the New York Post, the reporter explores this in detail.

"“There is no doubt the Rangers knew they had lost something important when they sent Hagelin away under the duress of attempting to manage a sticky cap situation. But it is not clear they understood how vital a cog Hagelin was to their success, and it certainly is not clear that they worked at maximizing the return for him. It is not clear they understood how vital a cog Hagelin was to their success, and it certainly is not clear that they worked at maximizing the return for him… Rarely is the presence or absence of one individual determinative in hockey, and pretty much never when that individual is a third-line forwardRarely is the presence or absence of one individual determinative in hockey, and pretty much never when that individual is a third-line forward, but the Blueshirts’ penalty killing crashed without Hagelin — 26th this year after being ranked sixth and third in the previous two seasons with Vigneault behind the bench — and so did their back pressure, and so did their forecheck, and so did 2014-15 linemate Kevin Hayes.”"

The cap being the driving factor for this decision, Hagelin left creating a void in the New York Rangers offense that was not entirely predicted nor has any current Ranger been able to fill. Now, potentially two wins away from a Stanley Cup, the Pens have him locked in until the end of the 2018-2019 season.

Beyond this, Etem’s play was inconsistent at best, and led to Vigneault’s decision to bench the pickup from Anaheim for a majority of the season. He played 19 games for the Rangers, scoring no goals and notching three assists.

Whether it was an issue of Etem not fitting in or simply they weren’t using him properly, the Rangers lost in this scenario.

Next: New York Rangers: How to Rebuild On the Fly

Trades made in 2016: Some are already total failures, while others are undetermined

• Acquired F Nicklas Jensen and a 2017 sixth-round draft pick from Vancouver for;
  • RW Emerson Etem

Nicklas Jensen who was drafted by Vancouver in 2011 has had a rocky start to his professional career but has stepped up since being traded to New York. Prior to his trade from Vancouver’s affiliate in Utica, Jensen only had 4 goals and 8 assists but after being traded he posted 15 goals and 10 assists in his 41 games for the Wolfpack this season.

He is fast, physical and has shown he has the ability to read play but is inconsistent on the defensive end of the ice. He played very well for Denmark at the IIHF World Championship in May.

C Eric Staal from Carolina for;

• C Aleksi Saarela
• A second-round draft picks in 2016 and 2017

The Rangers traded their 2015 third round draft pick, Aleksi Saarela along with two future second round picks (2016, 2017) for a half a season with Eric Staal, whose play was uncharacteristically dismal with the Rangers.

Not only did they lose a prospect with a great ability to score – Saarela notched 33 points this season for Assat Prori, a part of Liiga – but they may also lose a veteran who they couldn’t fit into their offensive box.

• Ryan Bourque for;
  • Chris Brown

The Rangers selected Bourque in the 2009 Entry Level Draft and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers in March 2011. Before being traded, Bourque made his NHL debut with the Rangers in an April 9th game against Ottawa, with no points in the game. Bourque scored 12 goals with 20 assists in 73 regular season games for Hartford, who finished first in the Northeast Division and reached the Eastern Conference finals.

The quick, small forward had a good release, but could be knocked off the puck easily and often made sketchy choices with the puck. Trading for Chris Brown, who is 6’2”, 210 pounds may eventually work in the Rangers favor. The large forward still has speed despite his size has shown an ability to score goals at every level.