New York Rangers: Does it make sense to trade for Seabrook’s contract?
Though on the surface he looks like just an aging defenseman, acquiring Brent Seabrook could be a great move for the New York Rangers concerning the salary cap.
In trying to navigate the beginning of a rebuild, the New York Rangers have to be smart about making trades. No matter how tempting it may be, they really should not be going for superstar players like John Tavares or Erik Karlsson.
The focus right now should be getting the team younger for the future. Acquiring draft picks, prospects and players who are just before their prime is probably the team’s best option.
However, young players can’t make up the entire roster every night. In addition, their smaller salaries don’t take up much cap room. With almost 30 million dollars of cap space currently, the Rangers could make some moves that will help fill their roster and the cap, while still helping them get younger.
Enter Chicago Blackhawk, Brent Seabrook. He’s a defenseman about to turn 34 years old and starting to decline. Though he has a no-move clause, trying to trade for him could be a good move or the Rangers to make in terms of cap space and keeping warm (experienced) bodies on the roster.
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Career so far
Brent Seabrook has played in 13 NHL seasons since his debut in 2005. In his rookie year, he scored 32 points, made up of five goals and 27 assists, in 69 games.
From there, he stayed somewhat consistent, recording between 24 and 32 points for the next four seasons. Seabrook really broke out during the 2010-2011 season. His team had just won their first Stanley Cup since the 1960-1961 season and he went on to score nine goals and 39 assists for a total of 48 points in 82 games.
Seabrook never quite got back up to that level again. For the next few seasons, he bounced between 20 and 41 points.
His last great season was 2015-2016 when he notched 14 goals and 35 assists for a total of 49 points. He reached career highs in goals and points that year, with his career high in assists coming in 2010-2011 with 39.
In 2016-2017, he still had not really dropped significantly, recording three goals and 36 assists for 39 points in 79 games. It became evident that age was catching up to the defenseman this past year.
In 81 games, he had just seven goals and 19 assists, totaling 26 points. This was his third-lowest point total ever, and the first time he dropped below 30 points since the 2012-2013 season when he only played 47 games.
The last time he played this poorly in a full season was the fourth year of his career. It’s obvious that Brent Seabrook just isn’t what he used to be.
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Why it would work
Obviously, the New York Rangers aren’t acquiring for his talent. At 33 years old, he has already slowly begun to decline.
It’ll only get worse from here. However, he could help the team in other ways.
The Rangers could package some of their lower-ranked prospects and later picks in exchange for a big name player like Brent Seabrook, and probably get some draft picks along with him.
With a contract lasting until the end of the 2023-2024, when Seabrook will be 39, this defenseman will be around for a while. If nothing else, he brings veteran leadership to the team and will be another warm body on the roster.
Not to mention, he already has three Stanley Cups. The team isn’t shooting for a championship this year. They’re trying to take the next few years to get younger and better.
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In the meantime, while they figure that out, Brent Seabrook could be a good option to acquire. The Blackhawks get to dump his contract, and the Rangers get to fill out their lineup.