On Friday morning, it was reported all over the internet that the New York Rangers have their eyes on Red Wings’ defenseman Brendan Smith. Let’s look at Smith’s fit in New York in case a trade does come to pass.
On a morning that started with the Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers train moving at full force, thanks to one Bob McKenzie…
Just thinking out loud here: If you're NYR, do you give up 1st rder, plus prospect, for Shattenkirk, or just wait/take chances on July 1?
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 24, 2017
An additional trade target has emerged for the Blueshirts.
On TSN 1050 while talking about Shattenkirk, Darren Dreger noted that the Rangers, who may think the price for Shattenkirk is steep, are “zeroing in on Brendan Smith of the Detroit Red Wings.”
Who is Brendan Smith?
Brendan Smith is a 28-year-old defenseman who has played parts of six seasons for the Red WIngs. The Mimico, Ontario has only tallied two goals and three assists through 33 games this season.
The veteran defenseman would be a deadline rental, as he is at the end of his two-year deal that paid him an average annual salary of $2.75 million and will become an unrestricted free agent.
With that said, though, Smith might be a good fit on the Rangers’ blueline.
He has been a pretty solid puck possession player for a long time now. This season, he has posted career low numbers in these categories, like his 50% corsi-for percentage. While that’s still solid, this number represents a 6.8% drop from last year. This could be attributed to declined play from a year ago, but it is also worth noting that his teams in the past were a lot better than they are this season.
Smith has tallied a 55% corsi-for percentage in every season thus far into his career except for in 2013-14, where his percentage hovered just under 54%–still a very good number.
Earlier in the season, Smith suffered a sprained knee in December that kept him out of the Wings’ lineup for 12 games. He returned to the lineup on February 4th against the Predators and oddly enough hasn’t tallied a point in the eight games since. This is probably a combination of Smith getting acclimated to the NHL speed again, as well as his stay-at-home style.
Is he a good fit with the Rangers?
I’m a believer that you can never have too many solid defensemen on your roster. The Rangers may only have four or five of those, so any defensive additions would benefit them greatly in the present.
The only reason that I am skeptical about this is because of what the Rangers may have to give up for a rental.
For instance, Ron Hainsey, a much older, slower veteran defenseman, was shipped to the Penguins for a second-round pick the other day. If the asking price for Smith is just that, the Rangers need to pass hard on this. It’s the same reason why they probably should avoid Kevin Shattenkirk until the offseason too.
Next: Young Free Agents That the Rangers Should Target
I would probably be okay with sending Detroit a 4th rounder in exchange for his services, or maybe even a middling prospect or two, but the Rangers can in no way ship out what the Penguins needed to give up in the Hainsey trade.