Jack Milewski- Daniel Winnik
The New York Rangers have made transactions this season that are starting to show what Jeff Gorton has in mind for his team’s image. After bolstering the defense, Gorton has kept a young core of good skaters up front. A couple veterans join the mix, but overall the Rangers are trending younger.
That’s what signing an aging veteran doesn’t make sense. Among others to stay away from this offseason is Daniel Winnik. Winnik is currently 32 and most likely towards the end of his career. In 717 games played, he has put up 228 points. It’s a respectable number for a bottom six forward, but not a number that suggests an answer for the Rangers.
Right now the Rangers need a top center. If they mean to solve that internally, then they need scoring depth in the bottom six. Winnik would give the team neither. There are far more quality players who fit the Rangers playing style waiting patiently for a team to offer them a contract.
After what happened last season, when Tanner Glass was inexplicably in the lineup over Pavel Buchnevich during a stretch of the playoffs, the last thing we should see from the Rangers is them offering a contract to a player who could take away minutes from a group of skilled young forwards.
Winnik is a slightly better version of Glass. But he certainly wouldn’t fit the mold of what the Rangers seem to be building now. Maybe another team. Maybe another year. But for now, New York should say no to Daniel Winnik.