New York Rangers: Ranking the last five offseasons
It’s no secret the New York Rangers landed the biggest free agent on the market this offseason by signing Kevin Shattenkirk.
To free up some cap space, General Manager Jeff Gorton dealt center Derek Stepan, and goaltender Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes. It was certainly a busy offseason for the Rangers, but was it among their most successful in the last five years?
As the 2017 offseason comes to a close, and the excitement for preseason begins to build, we can finally take a look at how well the Rangers fared.
However, how does it compare to seasons past? As Henrik Lundqvist gets older, the window of opportunity becomes smaller. Each offseason becomes more pivotal, while the team still tries to build for the future. Let’s see which offseason ranks the worst to the best in the last five years.
Fifth: 2015
The Rangers were fresh off a disappointing defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals, and at a crossroads. After winning the President’s Trophy, the season was cut shorter than anyone expected. It was Stanley Cup or bust.
A changing of the guard was needed, and Jeff Gorton was promoted to be the new General Manager. Longtime General Manager Glen Sather would take on a new role as team President.
Draft Day Trades
The Rangers were extremely active on draft day, and traded left winger Carl Hagelin, the 59th overall pick, and the 179th overall pick, to the Anaheim Ducks. In return, the Rangers got back winger Emerson Etem, and the 41st overall pick who turned out to be forward Ryan Gropp.
Trading the speedy Hagelin was clearly a cap saving move, as the Rangers couldn’t afford to pay him a new contract. In retrospect, maybe they should have. Etem didn’t even last one season on Broadway, and was a failed project from the beginning. In 19 games, he had just three assists. He was later traded to Vancouver for forward Nicklas Jensen.
That same draft, the Rangers traded Cam Talbot and the 209th overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers. The Rangers got back three picks for Talbot, but none in the first two rounds.
This offseason was one to forget because the Rangers sold low on both Talbot and Hagelin. The only positive was the trade to bring Antti Raanta to New York for AHL forward Ryan Haggerty. It was an absolute mystery how that’s all it took to acquire a quality back up goaltender.
Other than Raanta, the only other noticeable addtion was Viktor Stalberg. This Rangers team clearly needed a revamp, and didn’t get one. As a result, they were eliminated in five games in the first round to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Fourth: 2014
While the Rangers won the President’s Trophy in the 2014-2015 season, the offseason leading in left much to be desired. The Rangers made very little adjustments from the team that made a Stanley Cup appearance.
In fact, there was a few notable subtractions. Gone was Brad Richards via a buyout, and Benoit Pouliot to free agency. Fourth liners Brian Boyle and Derek Dorsett were also not brought back, two key fourth liners that gave the Rangers great depth.
The Rangers were relying on guys like Derek Brassard and Mats Zuccarello to take the next step and crack the top six. The Rangers did sign Dan Boyle to a two year contract, and Boyle did play well enough to justify the contract. However, he replaced Anton Stralman, who was a considerably better defender that the Rangers let go at a similar price.
The saving grace was the signing of coveted college free agent Kevin Hayes. Hayes decided not to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, and instead sign with the New York Rangers in August of 2014. In his first year, Hayes scored 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points in 79 games. It was a marvelous rookie season for Hayes, and the Rangers knew they added a core piece for absolutely nothing at all.
The Rangers would go on to win the President’s Trophy due to many players stepping up, especially Hayes. Sometimes not doing much works out best after all. But, the moves the Rangers did make still helped them.
Third: 2013
The year the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals was due in part to a crucial offseason. The Rangers started it off by firing then head coach John Tortorella, and hiring coach Alain Vigneault to replace him.
Vigneault’s style was much different than Tortorella’s, and was a perfect change of pace…literally. Tortorella’s grind it out kind of style wore the team out, and wore thin in the Rangers locker room. Vigneault demanded a faster pace, and an up-tempo offensive attack.
At first, the Rangers struggled and looked completely lost in the first couple of weeks in the season. However, the Rangers found their stride and never looked back. The coaching change was the biggest move of the offseason, but a few smaller signings made the Rangers even more competitive.
Benoit Pouliot had struggled much of his NHL career, but flourished in Vigneault’s style with the Rangers. On the third line, Pouliot scored 15 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. That is great production for $1.3 million dollars that season.
A New Fan Favorite is Born.
Pouliot’s linemate, Mats Zuccarello, also re-signed with the Rangers with a one year contract worth $1.15 million, after spending a lot of time in the KHL. In his first full season in the NHL, Zuccarello scored 19 goals and 44 assists in 79 games. After being undrafted, and bouncing around in different leagues, Zuccarello finally found his game.
Journeyman Dominic Moore was signed to a cheap one year contract, and provided instant value to the Rangers. He was a good skater, but was also a great fourth liner. Moore played with great tenacity, and was a great penalty killer. While he only had six goals and 12 assists that year, his faceoff percentage of 54.6 was great considering the Rangers were poor in the face-off circle.
With a change in style, and a few key plugs, the Rangers started slow but almost finished on top thanks to great bargain adds in the offseason.
Second: 2016
The 2016 offseason will be defined by one move that made the Rangers a better team now, and many years from now.
In July of 2016, the Rangers traded center Derick Brassard and a seventh round pick in 2018 to the Ottawa Senators for center Mika Zibanajed, and a second round pick in 2018. Not only did the Rangers get the younger player in Zibanajed, who is 24 years old, but they also got the player with a higher ceiling.
Brassard hit his peak with the Rangers in the 2015-2016 season when he scored 27 goals in 80 games. This past year for Ottawa? Just 14 goals in 81 games.
Zibanajed broke his fibula in November, and missed about six weeks. Yet, Zibanajed only scored four less goals than Brassard did in 25 less games.
A Great Surprise
Another key addition was winger Michael Grabner, who was often injured and inconsistent. After the Toronto Maple Leafs decided not to re-sign him, Grabner signed a two year, $3.3 million dollar deal with the New York Rangers.
In his first season with the team, Grabner scored a whopping 27 goals and 13 assists for 40 points in 76 games. Grabner was a huge surprise for the Rangers, and a much needed scoring boost with tremendous value.
Along with Grabner was college prospect Jimmy Vesey, who signed with the Rangers on August 20, 2016. The Hobey Baker award winner chose the Rangers even though the Nashville Predators originally had the rights to him.
In his rookie season with the Rangers, Vesey scored 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 80 games. The Rangers also got Pavel Buchnevich to come over from Russia and play in the NHL instead of the KHL.
This offseason saw the Rangers trade for a future number one center, add crucial core pieces, and add great depth.
First: 2017
In the last five years, the Rangers had their best offseason this year. While last year was game changing, this year saw the Rangers become true Stanley Cup contenders.
The big problem based on last season was clearly the defense. Dan Girardi and Marc Staal clearly couldn’t handle big responsibilities anymore, and it was time to move on. The Rangers took the first big step by buying out Dan Girardi of his contract, and re-signing Brendan Smith to a four year contract.
While Girardi was a liability, someone would need to take his place as the first pairing defenseman. Well, the Rangers landed the best defenseman on the market to do so. The crown jewel. The New York product. Ladies and gentleman, Kevin Shattenkirk became a Ranger.
Shattenkirk is the defenseman the Rangers have longed for. Ryan McDonagh will finally have an equal talent on his right side, and someone who can move the puck better than any defenseman in the league. At four years and $26.6 million, the Shattenkirk contract became one of the best value contract in the league. A hometown discount really pays off.
Goodbye Derek Stepan
While Shattenkirk did sign at a discount, the Rangers still needed to make room for him. Upon signing him, the Rangers traded center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes for defense prospect Anthony DeAngelo, and the seventh overall pick.
While controversial, the trade was perfect for the Rangers. Stepan was very productive during his time in New York, but carried a large cap hit of $6.5 million per year. With defense being more of a need, it made sense to trade Stepan and use that money to sign Shattenkirk.
Antti Raanta is a big loss, but the Rangers hope that Ondrej Pavelec can fill the role as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Not only did the Rangers clear cap space, but they added great, young talent to their prospect pool.
Next: Previewing #9 Washington Capitals
Anthony DeAngelo is only 21 years old and is regarded as a great offensive defenseman. Lias Andersson is only 18 years old, but may be NHL ready at just 18 years of age. Andersson immediately became the top prospect in the Rangers farm system.
The Rangers revamped the defense, added prospects, and improved their team for a cup run, and for the future. This offseason was a home run, and is the best offseason the Rangers have had in recent memory.