New York Rangers must not target trade deadline to acquire a center
The Rangers may be tempted to wait until the Deadline to make a move. That would be a poor course of action.
The New York Rangers will need a center before the stretch run, barring an impressive surge by Lias Andersson. Though the most logical course of action is to acquire a top nine center today, it takes two to tango. Jeff Gorton may not see the deal he likes on the table right now.
This lack of a perfect deal has caused many to point to the Trade Deadline as time for the Rangers to acquire the missing piece. In a vacuum it could make sense, as New York could try to get by until more teams are out of the playoff picture.
However, it would be a foolish course of action. Let’s dive into why that’s the case.
Pushing Players
If the Rangers do not acquire a top nine center, they must push all three of their top three centers into roles they have not played in before.
Mika Zibanejad becomes the top line center, a role he has not been afforded the chance to grow into yet. On the second line, Kevin Hayes is tasked with mightily improving his two-way game, one year removed from struggling with increased responsibilities.
Then we have the third line, where one of J.T. Miller switching positions, or teenager Lias Andersson has to lead the way.
While Zibanejad, Hayes, Miller, and Andersson are all talented players who will one day thrive in the roles mentioned, that must happen organically. Even if the Rangers do acquire a top nine center at the Trade Deadline, each player will have been forced into their new roles up until then.
That decrease in development time makes a difference.
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Trading Places
Ignoring the misplaced players for a moment, any potential deals could be costlier than one would think. Here are recent deadline deals for top nine forwards:
Arizona Coyotes trade F Martin Hanzal, F Ryan White and fourth-round pick in 2017 Draft to Minnesota Wild for F Grayson Downing, first-round pick in 2017 Draft, second-round pick in 2018 and conditional pick in 2019
Tampa Bay Lightning trade F Brian Boyle to Toronto Maple Leafs for F Byron Froese, conditional second-round pick in 2017 Draft
Dallas Stars trade F Patrick Eaves to Anaheim Ducks for conditional second-round pick in 2017 Draft
Carolina Hurricanes trade F Eric Staal to New York Rangers in exchange for F Aleksi Saarela, 2016 2nd-round pick, 2017 2nd-round pick
Winnipeg Jets trade Andrew Ladd, Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison to Chicago Blackhawks for Marko Dano, 2016 1st-round pick and conditional pick in 2018 Draft
How many of these deals turned out working out well for the buyers?
Due to the parity in the NHL, fewer teams are selling at the Deadline than ever. Prices are higher than ever. Teams will not give away their top nine centers for low costs.
Still, the prices must be high now. But the Rangers have 30 teams to try to deal with right now. At the Deadline, they will only have 10 or so teams that can trade away valuable players without sending a wrong message to the locker-room.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs trade Tyler Bozak today, it’s all part of reaching the Salary Cap in the offseason. If the Toronto Maple Leafs trade Tyler Bozak at the Deadline, it’s sending a negative message to the team.
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Realistically, banking on a Trade Deadline deal limits the Rangers. New York cannot do that to themselves. A deal must be made before the season starts, or New York will be in trouble down the middle.