When the New York Rangers acquired Ryan Spooner at the trade deadline in 2018, they got a surprisingly productive player. That player was nowhere to be found in the 2018-19 season.
Ryan Spooner: Grade F
Ryan Spooner had a great first start with the New York Rangers. He had 16 points in 20 games and was a dynamic forward who created scoring chances. He was rewarded in the off-season with a two-year contract at $4 million per year. On a rebuilding team, the 27-year old forward looked to be a building block. Then the season started.
His season
You can’t say that David Quinn didn’t give Spooner a chance. He started 16 of the first 18 games of the season and was totally ineffective. After notching an assists in the second game of the season, he had only one goal in the next 14 games and was traded to Edmonton for Ryan Strome.
To describe his season with the Rangers as abysmal would be generous. He was a minus five and his Corsi For was an awful 39.44%. That Corsi rating was better than only John Gilmour, Cody McLeod, Matt Beleskey and Connor Brickley. That’s not exactly distinguished company.
It’s not like he didn’t play. His ice time average was 12:41 and he hit the 14 minute mark six times, standard for a third or fourth line player.
Thankfully, Jeff Gorton knew it was time to cut bait and he found a willing taker in the Oilers. He fleeced Peter Chiarelli in one of the Edmonton GM’s last trades before his firing. Edmonton got a declining player who had worn out his welcome in New York and Boston and the Rangers got Ryan Strome, a player skilled enough to go fifth overall in the Entry Draft, but whose Oilers tenure had been tainted because he had been traded for Jordan Eberle.
It turned out that Strome had the best year for his new team of any player who was traded during the season. Kudos to Jeff Gorton.
It’s worth noting that for Spooner, it went from bad to worse. He played 25 games in Edmonton scoring two goals and three points. They finally sent him to Bakersfield in the AHL and ultimately swapped him for Sam Gagner in a trade with Vancouver. Spooner saw action in only 11 of the last 22 Canucks game with four assists. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer and it will be curious to see if he garners any interest from other teams.
Why the grade
This was an awful season for Spooner and he contributed practically nothing to the New York Rangers. I toyed with giving him a D because he was able to get the Rangers Ryan Strome, but that wouldn’t be a reflection on Spooner, it was courtesy of the smarts of Jeff Gorton.
It’s sad to see a player who had 49 points in his first full NHL season for Boston at age 24, end up with his fourth team in two years only four years later. He has shown flashes as he demonstrated in that wonderful stretch in New York last season, but at this point he risks becoming a career AHL player or another NHL refugee playing in the KHL.
The Numbers
Games: 16
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Points: 2
Plus/Minus: -5
ATOI: 12:41
Faceoff winning percentage: 57.3%
Corsi For: 39.4%
Hits: 10
Next Report Card: Mats Zuccarello