New York Rangers: The Rangers should claim Cody Franson off of waivers

The New York Rangers defense is holding the team back. The Chicago Blackhawks waived Cody Franson Monday afternoon and he could make an immediate impact for New York.

The Rangers defense is outright bad. The defense is an outright liability and coach Alain Vigneault has thrown the kitchen sink at the problem. Much to Vigneault’s misfortune, none of his lineup decisions are really helping the problem at hand. The players at his disposal are not very good, and he only makes things worse by going with his gut.

The team’s 2-1 loss to the Los Vegas Golden Knights should be a wake up call for the organization. The team does not have the talent to compete with the league’s best. Vigneault may not make the best lineup decisions, but all of his players have gone dry at the exact same time. There is not a single reason that Steven Kampfer should have had more shifts in the third period than Brady Skjei against Vegas.

However, that is exactly what happened Sunday night in Sin City. The Rangers are now on a league-mandated bye week and do not play again until they face off with the Islanders on Saturday. The Blackhawks waived Franson and it could be to the Rangers benefit should they act quickly.

The track record

The veteran NHL defenseman signed with the Blackhawks the first week of October. During his brief 30 game stint in Chicago Franson posted solid possession numbers and showed some offensive upside. The sample size with the Blackhawks is too small to form a conclusion on the defenseman as a player.

Over the course of his seven plus NHL seasons, Franson has shown an ability to be a serviceable defenseman at a budget price. For his career, Franson has a Corsi For % of 50.2 even though he has started a majority of faceoffs in the defensive zone. Pair his respectable possession stats with his conventional offense, his career average is 28 points per season, and you have a dependable defenseman.

There aren’t other options

The Rangers defenseman are not lighting the world on fire by any stretch of the imagination. By every metric feasible Franson is a better choice for the Rangers lineup than either Nick Holden or Kampfer. Franson is a better possession defenseman than either, Holden is a career 45.2 CF% and Kampfer is a career 49.7 CF%.

As a whole, the Rangers are struggling to control possession which ultimately means they are being outshot.

The only team with a worse CF% to CA% in the entire NHL than the Rangers is the Arizona Coyotes. This is a move with nothing but upside for the franchise, claiming Franson would mean a player would have to be waived from the NHL roster.  This would likely mean Kampfer going back to Hartford and Holden going to the press box.

This is not a franchise saving or altering move. Claiming Franson would not guarantee a playoff appearance, there is not even a promise Vigneault would use him in the lineup over Holden. But it is not every day that a solid defenseman hits the waiver wire. The Rangers should claim Franson and slide him in next to Marc Staal on the third pair