New York Rangers: The luxury of choices this summer
In any world, keeping as many options as possible available leaves the most opportunity for success. The New York Rangers have a wide array of choices in the summer of 2019.
For all of the naysayers who never thought that a New York-based team could successfully orchestrate a rebuild, I direct you to Jeff Gorton and the New York Rangers. In spite of conventional wisdom, New York’s G.M. took an honest look at his roster 15 months ago and determined that it needed a major overhaul to compete on a sustainable basis.
While there are decisions that need to be made that bear a heavy burden, it’s better to have options than being trapped in a corner. The Rangers have around $20 million in cap space, a handful of draft picks that could get better depending on how the playoffs go and a rising crop of prospects.
The Rangers are in position to be back in the playoffs as soon as next year depending on what happens this summer. One or two free agents, either Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko and New York’s top six suddenly look pretty competitive.
That is the great luxury that Gorton is afforded this summer. Ever since the G.M. traded Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes during the summer of 2017, he’s been working towards building a younger and more competitive roster.
What the #2 pick means
Simply put, the Rangers moving up to the second overall pick in this summer’s entry draft is the most important moment since the team won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Granted, the team still needs to make the pick and put the player in a position to succeed, but the recipe for Rangers success is pretty obvious.
Whoever the New Jersey Devils don’t take with the first overall pick, Huges or Kakko, will immediately become New York’s best prospect. While neither player is a generational talent on the tier of Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, both are franchise shifting talent. In today’s cost controlled entry-level contract league, you’re guaranteed eight years of team control.
The number two pick gives New York further flexibility in other areas on the team. With another top-six winger in the fold, it makes someone like Chris Kreider expendable on the trade market so that the Rangers would be able to acquire an impact defenseman or another high draft pick.
In conclusion
The one thing the Rangers should not feel this summer as an organization is pressure. Make the obvious choice with the number two pick, meet with the free agents the talent evaluation guys recommend and don’t overpay any restricted free agents. There are several moving parts to keep track of but entirely manageable.
By the end of this season, New York already had the youngest roster in the entire league in terms of average age. It will be by an even larger gap this year as a number of prospects work there way into the team’s plan at the NHL level. An extremely young team is entitled to time as it grows and gets acclimated to the best league in the entire world.
For the first time in a very long time, the Rangers are in a position to contend for an extended period of time. Having optimism may feel weird, but after the team moved up into the top three of the lottery, it seems warranted.
The Rangers are ready to stimulate the rebuild, it’s just a matter of the calendar getting to June and chips falling into place. Gorton isn’t quite holding pocket aces, but it might be pocket kings.