New York Rangers: How did the departed Rangers do for their new teams?

The New York Rangers ended up with draft picks and a slew of prospects, but what did Boston, New Jersey and Tampa end up with?

For the first time in recent memory, the Rangers were sellers at the trade deadline.   Ranger fans are well aware of the pitfalls of trade deadline deals.  For every Butch Goring there is an Eric Staal.  How did the Rangers’ trading partners do with their deadline acquisitions?

Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner was traded to the New Jersey Devils on February 22, four days before the deadline. The Rangers got a 2018 second round draft pick and Russian defensive prospect Yegor Rykov. The Devils acquired a game changing speedster with a knack for scoring (especially empty net goals). The Devils sported a record of 13-7-1 since the trade so the acquisition certainly didn’t hurt them.

When it comes to scoring, it appears that the Devils traded for the Michael Grabner who played for Toronto and not the New York Rangers version.  In 21 games for the Devils, Grabner scored two goals and had three assists. That’s a .09 goals per game pace. With the Rangers, Grabner scored at a .37 goals per game clip. With Toronto, he scored at a .11 goals per game  pace. In a departure from his record with New York, Grabner actually had more assists than goals. With the Rangers he had 52 goals over two seasons with only 15 assists, a percentage that made him the subject of a Wall Street Journal article.

Grabner’s speed will definitely help the Devils in the playoffs and if he  regains his scoring touch the trade will end up a good one for New Jersey. However, if this inability to score continues, he will be hurting his opportunity for a big payday as an UFA.

Nick Holden

The Rangers made two separate deals with Boston. In the first they swapped Nick Holden for Rob O’Gara and a 2018 third round draft pick. Holden was a Bruin for 24 games, but didn’t become a starter until a series of injuries hit the Bruins defense.

The Nick Holden familiar to Ranger fans was the Nick Holden who played in 18 games for Boston.  He scored one goal and had five assists, similar to his numbers with New York. He was also minus two (-2), worst of all Boston defensemen not named O’Gara. As a third pair defenseman averaging 19 minutes per game, he didn’t hurt the Bruins who went 13-7-4 with Holden on the roster. However, it’s telling that Holden was not in the lineup in the season finale against Florida, arguably the biggest game of the year.

Rick Nash

The big deadline acquisition for Boston was Rick Nash. The Rangers held out for a major return from Boston, getting a 2018 first round draft pick, defense prospect Ryan Lindgren and forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey (the latter a salary cap dump).

In his 11th game with the Bruins,  Nash took a tough hit from Tampa’s Cedric Paquette.  He suffered the proverbial “upper body injury” that was revealed this week to be a concussion. Rangers fans will recall that Nash had two concussions as a Blueshirt. The season ended with Nash playing in only 11 out of 22 games. He has resumed skating, but is his return for the playoffs is up in the air.

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Nash wasn’t exactly tearing up the league in his short time with the Bruins, but they did win eight of 11 with him in the lineup. His three goals in 11 games matched his output for the Rangers (18 goals in 60 games). Now, he faces a return from a concussion to try to become an impact player for what is essentially a new team. That plus an already tarnished reputation as a playoff performer could make this trade a disaster for Boston.

While the Bruins are playoff bound, they really wanted to finish in first place in the Atlantic to avoid a first round match up with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Without Nash they only won five out of their last 12 games and ended up in second  place. That’s why they traded for Rick Nash and it didn’t pay off.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The biggest deadline deal was the trade of Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa for a 2018 first round pick, a 2019 conditional second round pick, defense prospect Libor Hajek and center prospect Brett Howden. After the deal, Tampa went 11-6-2 and they finished first in the Atlantic Division. Miller played in all 19 games, while McDonagh missed the first five games with an injury.  If the regular season goal for the Lightning was to finish first, they accomplished it.

Ryan McDonagh

McDonagh found himself teamed with former partner Dan Girardi in the unfamiliar role of second pair defensemen. He saw his average ice time drop from 24 minutes per game to a little over 21 minutes.

A plus player, McDonagh only notched two goals and one assist in 14 games, not equal to his offensive output as a Ranger. In typical McDonagh fashion, he has been quietly effective for the Lightning, leaving the glory to Victor Hedman. Oddly enough, with McDonagh in the lineup, the team has been a .500 team at 7-6-1.

J.T. Miller

It’s doubtful that even Tampa anticipated the offensive explosion it would get from J.T. Miller. In 19 games Miller scored ten goals and added eight assists. The team went on a five game winning streak when Miller entered the lineup and he became a net front presence on the power play.

Ranger fans always knew that Miller was good, but his new teammates certainly have something to do with his stellar play. Of the 17 assists registered on his ten goals,12 belong to players named Stamkos, Kucherov and Hedman. Those are only three of the best players in the NHL.

Perhaps the best example of the a typical J.T. Miller game was a 4-2 loss to Boston on March 29.  Miller scored a power play goal, had five hits and blocked three shots. He was also minus three and had five giveaways. Yup, that’s the J.T Miller Ranger fans know and love.

The Playoffs

It’s playoff time for all five departed Rangers. In the most intriguing match-up, McDonagh and Miller and the Lightning (also known as the Rangers South) will be taking on Michael Grabner and the Devils, including ex-Rangers Brian Boyle and John Moore.

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The big question for Boston will be about Rick Nash’s health since it appears that Nick Holden will not be playing unless there are injuries.  Winners and losers won’t be determined until the playoff smoke clears.  It will be fun to watch.