By making some smart moves in free agency, the New York Rangers may have pushed a rugged fourth line winger out the door and onto the Hartford Wolfpack”s roster.
The New York Rangers have had a busy offseason, but not busy in the way most of us thought they would be.
Most Rangers fans, writers and bloggers expected to see the team go through somewhat of an overhaul entering the franchise’s 90th season on ice. Other than goalie Henrik Lundqvist, every player on the team had their name in trade rumors at one point or another, and some players like Rick Nash and Dan Girardi were as good as gone.
Then July 1st rolled around.
The Rangers didn’t go out and make that big splashy trade that everyone had predicted they’d make. The only deal that they have been involved in so far this offseason was the one which saw veteran defenseman Nick Holden traded here from Colorado for a 4th round pick in next year’s entry draft. However, the team has been very busy, making smart, cost-effective moves.
These moves have brought in two top offensive prospects in Pavel Buchnevich and Robin Kovacs, a couple solid depth defenseman in Adam Clendening and Michael Paliotta, as well as three smart, defensively reliable forwards Michael Grabner, Nathan Gerbe and the team’s latest addition, Josh Jooris, as well as re-signing key RFAs like J.T. Miller, Dylan McIlrath and prospect Nicklas Jensen.
These moves will do numerous things for the Rangers going forward. Firstly, these moves will make the Rangers a much faster team. Guys like Grabner and Gerbe will return the speed that the team has lacked in their lineup since trading Carl Hagelin just over a year ago.
They have also gotten deeper on the blueline in Hartford. The top 6 in Hartford should actually look pretty good with the 23-year-olds Clendening and Paliotta going down there to join Matt Bodie, Ryan Graves, Chris Summers and Troy Donnay. Also, the penalty kill, which ranked 26th in the league last season should be much improved with the additions of Grabner and Gerbe, who are both phenomenal penalty killers.
The main thing these roster moves do, though, is make the team incredibly deep. I have said this before this offseason, but I think this is the deepest forward group I have ever seen on the Rangers roster sheet. Of course looking good now and looking good when we look back on this team after next season are two completely different things, but I really like what I am seeing.
The team’s bottom 6 will be a very fast, skilled one with a lot of youth as well. If I had to guess what the lines will look like going into next season, I think the bottom six will see a Buchnevich-Hayes-Grabner line and a Fast-Jooris-Gerbe line until Oscar Lindberg gets back on the ice around mid-November. When he does come back, I think he will knock Gerbe out of the lineup, making him the 13th forward.
Which means there is no room for Tanner Glass.
Oh yes, Tanner Glass, the man that has continued to be a puck possession anchor and slow down his linemates since he came to New York may finally see himself buried in the AHL for good come next season. By letting forwards Dominic Moore and Viktor Stalberg go via free agency, along with letting center Eric Staal go his own way as well, it is obvious that New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton wants his team to get younger and quicker, and his offseason additions should allow that to happen.
There is something to be said for having a heavy hitter on your fourth line to get under the opponents skin and get your team some momentum, but until very late in the season, Tanner Glass never did any of that, which defeats the purpose of having him on the roster. If the Rangers decide to play Dylan McIlrath as their 6th defenseman–as they should–then there will be absolutely no need for the very few things Tanner Glass brings to the team in a positive respect.
It is also worth noting that, when the Rangers made the Stanley Cup Finals 2 years ago, they had a fourth line that, while they could throw the body, also possessed speed and decent goal scoring ability. If you have a line of Fast-Lindberg and Jooris, you not only get a speedy fourth line, but you have three players who could probably all chip in at least 10 goals a year, are defensively responsible, and are good penalty killers.
Next: What to Expect From Prospect Robin Kovacs
Sending Tanner Glass down to the minors is something that hopefully Alain Vigneault is considering doing. It is something he needs to do.
It’s addition by subtraction, and now the Rangers have a team where there is no excuse for keeping him around.