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New York Rangers: The next captain isn’t on the roster

By Nicholas Zararis

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 29: New York Rangers Center Lias Andersson (50) skates during the New York Rangers Prospect Development Camp on June 29, 2018 at the MSG Training Center in New York, NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 29: New York Rangers Center Lias Andersson (50) skates during the New York Rangers Prospect Development Camp on June 29, 2018 at the MSG Training Center in New York, NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 07: New York Rangers Right Wing Mats Zuccarello (36) stands in front of Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Brian Elliott (37) in the first period during the game between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers on April 07, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 07: New York Rangers Right Wing Mats Zuccarello (36) stands in front of Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Brian Elliott (37) in the first period during the game between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers on April 07, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Number two: Mats Zuccarello

This is painful to write, but Mats Zuccarello is likely in his final season as a Ranger. At 31-years-old, Zuccarello is an obvious outlier in terms of age on the rebuilding team. In addition to his age, the Norwegian forward is also in the final year of his contract.

Since Zuccarello is still a productive player, he is a prime candidate as trade bait come trade deadline time. It does not take much imagination to envision a scenario in which general manager Jeff Gorton trades the forward to a contender for draft capital or prospects.

Similar to Staal, it does not make sense to name Zuccarello captain if he is not going to be on the team long term. Having the captaincy be a revolving door is no way to establish a culture amongst the players. This is why the team did not name Martin St. Louis captain following the 2014 season. The front office and then coach Alain Vigneault both knew that St. Louis was not going to be on the team for more than one more season.

This all goes out the window if the team and Zuccarello agree to a long term extension. In that case, he would be the obvious choice. Based on the decisions of the previous 24 months, a veteran player on an expiring contract is going to be traded. The rebuilding process will take multiple years and having assets is more helpful than a forward prone to age related regression.

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