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New York Rangers Stock Market: The downs of the season (so far)

By Victoria Ranieri

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMEBER 10: Fredrik Claesson #33 of the New York Rangers and Mika Zibanejad #93 celebrate after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout on November 10, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMEBER 10: Fredrik Claesson #33 of the New York Rangers and Mika Zibanejad #93 celebrate after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout on November 10, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 28: New York Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith (42) waits for play to begin during the second period of the NHL preseason game between the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens on October 28, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 28: New York Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith (42) waits for play to begin during the second period of the NHL preseason game between the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens on October 28, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Down: Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith’s struggles have gotten worse as the season has gone on.

Oh, Brendan Smith. A player who I’ve been rooting for all season has started to fall back to his old ways. At the beginning of the season, Smith looked good. He still struggled, but looked closer to how he did while paired with Brady Skjei in the 2017 playoffs. However, he has fallen off a bit recently.

Smith (like the rest of the defensive core) is struggling defensively. While he managed to improve on his offensive output and has two goals and five assists for seven points in 30 games, he still struggles with keeping the puck out of his own end.

However, I still believe that Smith (and the rest of the defensive core) can turn it around. Why? Because the team is just bad right now.

When the team struggles, everyone struggles. The Rangers just do not have the talent to keep up with the majority of teams in the league. Because of his, the defense is just going to look bad. There’s no way around it.

As for Brendan Smith, when the team was playing better, he looked better as a player. Much like with Shattenkirk, a change of scenery may be best for him. I still think Smith can be a useful player in the NHL, but the Rangers won’t be decent for at least another season. It may be best to gain assets for Smith now rather than to continue ruining his trade value to other teams in the league. It may not be that simple as he has a modified no trade clause and a hefty cap hit

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