New York Rangers: How trade-able is Neal Pionk?

The New York Rangers have a surplus of defensemen.  With a trade likely this off-season, Neal Pionk is a strong candidate to go elsewhere.  Is he enticing enough to get a good return?

You are an NHL general manager and you get a call from the New York Rangers.  The Blueshirts are offering a 23-year old right-handed shooting defenseman.

This player eats heavy minutes, averaging 21:30 in his career.  He can run the power play having scored 45% of his career points with the man advantage.  Only 25 NHL defensemen had more power play points than he did this season. He’s got decent size at 6’0″, 190 lbs. and he can chip in with the occasional highlight reel play.

Best of all, he is cheap.  He’s a restricted free agent (arbitration eligible) who is coming off an entry level contract that paid him less than two million dollars a  year.  This player is Neal Pionk.

How does he compare to other defensemen? Pionk has  a lifetime average of .40 points per game.  He creates 0.13 goals per game.   Jake Gardiner averages .44 points per game and creates 0.14 goals per game.  Anton Stralman‘s numbers are .32 and 0.10.   Jacob Trouba?  .44 and 0.15.

There are some negatives.  Pionk regressed as the season went on, presumably because he was  over-used early in the season.  His possession statistics aren’t the greatest, though that could be explained by his minutes against the top opposition players and his playing partner, an aging Marc Staal.

When you look at Pionk, he is a desirable asset who should get the Rangers a  decent return, especially if he is packaged with a draft pick.  He has a solid upside and on the right team, could develop in a top NHL defenseman.

Possible trade partners

The likeliest trading partners are teams in cap trouble.  They will be looking to add players with manageable salaries.  Although Pionk is a RFA, he is a candidate for a very reasonable long-term contract.  A team trading for Pionk could probably get him under a cost-controlled contract for four or five years.  In the world of the salary cap, that is important.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a likely partner.  With projected cap space of less than $9 million, they have to sign Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.  They are going to lose Jake Gardiner to free agency.   Could Pionk work on the second pair behind top defenseman Morgan Rielly?

Anaheim has about $9 million in cap space and have four NHL defensemen under contract on their roster.   The Ducks power play was awful this season.  No Anaheim defenseman had more than six points on the  power play. The entire Anaheim defense had 18.   Neal Pionk alone had 13 points.

The rebuilding Detroit Red Wings had no defenseman with more PP points than Pionk and have four aging blueliners in Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley and Mike Green. The question is what assets do they have that the Rangers would want.

The Los Angeles Kings are nearing cap trouble and after Drew Doughty with 24 power play points, they had no defenseman with more than two points with the man advantage.

Is he a goner?

So, is Pionk soon to be an ex-Ranger?  A recent post on Blue Line Station cited Pionk as the third most movable defenseman, after Fredrik Claesson and Anthony DeAngelo.    He may actually top the list.

With the addition of Adam Fox, the Blueshirts will have four righthanded shooting defensemen  in Kevin Shattenkirk, DeAngelo, Fox and Pionk.  They also have two more righties in highly regarded prospects Joey Keane and Nils Lundkvist.

The chatter about Erik Karlsson has ramped up since the Sharks were eliminated from the playoffs.  Guess what, Karlsson is a right shooter as well.

When it comes to trade-ability, Shattenkirk’s $6.5 million contract is an issue along with his modified no trade clause.  Tony DeAngelo may have a tremendous upside  but his personal issues may offset the outstanding progress he made this season.  Adam Fox is going nowhere.

If the Rangers roll the dice on a fragile Karlsson, Pionk is as good as gone.  If not, they may wait until training camp to see if Adam Fox is ready to take on NHL responsibilities.

As a trade pawn, Pionk has a lot going for him. He is already one of the better offensive defensemen in the NHL and with proper deployment, he will only get better.  Dealing him may be the best option for Jeff Gorton, but it is an option that the team may regret in the future if Pionk has anything to do with it.