New York Rangers: Which core members are not expendable?
Last week, we took a look at some of the core players that the Rangers should be willing to move and why. The article can be found here. This post is a follow-up article that will discuss which of the Rangers’ core members are not expendable.
As we discussed in the last article, The New York Rangers are likely going to shake up the team’s core during this offseason. The current core has experienced plenty of deep playoff runs, but none have ended with the Rangers winning it all.
Additionally, several of the core players have either declined or are edging closer to their eventual decline. The Rangers also happen to be severely lacking talent on their blueline, which has become their Achille’s heel.
These points will likely force the Rangers’ General Manager, Jeff Gorton, to make changes to the team’s current core.
However, there are four core members that the Rangers should not be willing to part ways with. These core members have become an integral part of the Rangers’ success and parting ways with these players would be detrimental to the future of the Rangers.
Mats Zuccarello
Mats Zuccarello has become one of, if not the Rangers’ most important forwards. Zuccarello is a leader on and off the ice, a skilled player, and happens to be a fierce competitor.
Zuccarello has become a consistent 55 to 60 point player. Despite shooting at a 7.9 shooting percentage, which is three percent lower than his career average of 10.9, Zuccarello still managed to finish the season with 59 points. Zuccarello posted a new career high in assists, with 44, this past season.
Basically, there is a good possibility that Zuccarello could post 70 or more points in the 2017-18 season.
It would be extremely hard for the Rangers to replace his scoring. And even if the Rangers were able to find a player who can score more points than Zuccarello, their cap hit would be significantly higher than Zuccarello’s (provided that they are not on an Entry Level Contract).
Zuccarello is set to make $4.5 million for the next two seasons. This team friendly deal is a steal for the Rangers. Any player the Rangers could try and bring in to replace him would likely have a cap hit that is higher than six million dollars.
This makes Zuccarello incredibly irreplaceable. Trading him would be irresponsible and would likely lead to the Rangers regressing next season. Simply put, the Rangers should need the other team to move the Heavens and Earth before they even consider thinking about trading Zuccarello.
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan McDonagh has been the Rangers’ best defenseman for several years now. McDonagh also happens to be one of the premier defensemen in the NHL. McDonagh does not put up the offensive numbers of someone like Erik Karlsson.
However, McDonagh does manage to consistently be in or around the top 20 in scoring for defensemen. He does that while providing tremendous defensive value for the Rangers.
McDonagh is coming off a season where he fell one point short(42) of his career high (43). His shooting percentage of 3.9% also happens to be two percent lower than his career average (5.9%).
McDonagh happens to be in the prime of his career. He is 27 years old, which is when a player typically enters their prime. He does turn 28 on June 13th, but that still gives him several seasons before he becomes past his prime.
When all of this is considered, it is easy to see that it would be hard for the Rangers to replace Ryan McDonagh. He’s a top tiered defenseman and a leader on the team. And he happens to only have a cap hit of $4.7 million. The number of contracts better than his can be counted on your hand.
Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist is the heart and soul of the New York Rangers. He has single-handedly put the Rangers on his back and carried them through the playoffs. The Rangers absolutely owe their playoff success in recent years to Lundqvist.
Lundqvist did have a rocky 2016-17 season, which was his worst statistical season. And he is signed to an $8.5 million contract. But it should be noted that the Rangers’ defense has been a mess for the past two seasons.
Regardless, the Rangers are much better off with Lundqvist in net. There is a reason that he is called the King.
ya, probably. the chart represents the saves he made over what the average goalie would have (on average). he broke the chart pic.twitter.com/bSIRidbG1f
— Cole Anderson (@ice_cole_data) March 27, 2017
Looking at the chart, it is clear to see that there is no goaltender that has provided more value than Lundqvist has over the past 12 seasons. Simply, it would be hard, and maybe even impossible, for the Rangers to find a better person for the job (and no, Antti Raanta is not better than Henrik Lundqvist).
Derek Stepan
Derek Stepan is a key piece to the Rangers. After this last season, Derek Stepan has found himself being included in trade rumors and many fans seem to want to trade him for a defenseman. Derek Stepan could likely return a top four defenseman for the Rangers if he were to be traded.
However, trading Stepan would be foolish. The Rangers have tremendous depth at the center position on their NHL roster. Moving him without getting a top line center back would cause this center depth to disappear.
Stepan is a top line center. He plays shut-down defense while also scoring 55 or more points every season. There isn’t a player on the Rangers’ roster who can replace what he brings.
Any trade for a defenseman will not make up for the gaping hole at center that the Rangers would have. It would just cause the Rangers to get significantly weaker up the middle. Center depth is important, just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Next: New York Rangers Can’t Give Away First Rounder to Dump Girardi or Staal
The Rangers will likely have a busy offseason this year. The front office has their work cut out for them if they wish to win a cup during Lundqvist’s career.
If the Rangers’ front office is able to identify which core players they should be willing to dump due to poor play (Dan Girardi and Marc Staal), which they should be willing to trade for the right price (Rick Nash and Chris Kreider), and which they should not be willing to move (Zuccarello, McDonagh, Lundqvist, and Stepan), then the Rangers will be a fearsome team next season.