New York Rangers: What if the team had landed Stamkos in 2010
The New York Rangers have lacked a superstar since Jaromir Jagr in 2008. The Rangers had a deal in place with the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 19-year-old Steven Stamkos in 2010.
A singluar charatericstic has defined the entire Henrik Lundqivst era of Rangers hockey. The team has always had decent depth, but it has never had superstar talent. Outside of the exemplary Lundqvist in net, the team has failed to accumulate elite talent. Although both Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash were very good, neither was elite.
The biggest problem for the Rangers come postseason time during this era was an inability to matchup with the other team’s best players. The team has had more balanced rosters than its opponents, but the top end talent was too much to overcome. In the 2014 Stanely Cup final and the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, the other team’s high end talent was simply too much.
During the Lundqvist era, the best player the Rangers have put in front of their goaltender was Jaromir Jagr. During the mid 2000s, Jagr was still amongst the best players in the entire NHL. In the 2005-2006 season, he finished in second for the Hart Trophy.
Back in 2010, then Rangers General manager Glen Sather had a deal in place to land a 19 year old Steven Stamkos. If the Rangers had pulled off the deal, the team’s history would’ve gone in a completley different direction.
The Trade
According to Sather, he shook hands on a deal with then Lightning Co-owner Leon Barrie, for Tampa Bay to select two out of Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Dan Girardi and Evegny Grachev. If the Rangers had pulled off such a trade, it would have been a fleecing on the scale of Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson or PK Subban for Shea Weber.
There is something to be said for depth. The best teams in the NHL can roll out at least three if not four lines. The Rangers in 2010 were at least a year away from seriously competing for a Stanley Cup. Ultimately, the Rangers ended up trading away three of the five assets Tampa Bay had to choose from. In addition, the team gave Girardi an extension they came to regret in year two of a five year deal.
Had the Rangers managed to pull off this deal, the entire complexion of the NHL would’ve changed. With an elite center to build around, New York’s future is immeasurably changed.
What if
For the sake of this hypothetical, let’s say Tampa Bay selects the best three players of the five, Caallahan, Dubinsky and Girardi. This means the Rangers need two middle six forwards and a top pair defenseman. Subsequently, it means that New York either trades someone else with Artem Anismov to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Rick Nash, or they never get Nash.
With Stamkos in the fold, moving Anisimov and another NHL roster player for Nash would be pointless. Just one season after this deal would’ve happened, Stamkos posted a 91 point season. With a 90 point per season player, there would’ve been no need to trade for Nash.
With Stamkos, the Rangers could have put Marian Gaborik on one wing and Carl Hagelin on the other. Having a high end talent like Stamkos next to him, Hagelin could’ve ecplisded the 50 point plateau with realitve ease.
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The last eight years of Rangers hockey would’ve been totally different with Stamkos on the team. An elite scorer like Stamkos would have allowed the Rangers to put more emphasis on defense. Had the Lightning selected Girardi to be part of the trade, New York would’ve likely kept Anton Stralman. That’s what makes these what-ifs so interesting, the Rangers could be in year eight of the Stamkos era and likely have a Stanley Cup in their trophy case.