The New York Rangers have many options available to them as they work their way through this rebuild. Perhaps one of those options should include admitting they made a mistake.
In a recent article for The Hockey News, Jared Clinton wrote that Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi may be looking to get out of town. Clinton cites five potential destinations for the under achieving winger but fails to include the New York Rangers as one of the options.
Well, how about this for a trade deal. If the draft turns up Kappo Kakko, then why not trade Lias Andersson for Jesse Puljujarvi.
Puljujarvi was drafted by the Oilers in 2016. He was the fourth overall pick. Matthew Tkachuk and Charlie McEvoy were drafted after him. Brett Howden was selected 27th in the same draft. Puljujarvi is 21 years old, 6’4″ – 201 lbs., a right handed shot, and hails from Finland. FINLAND!
To say he has been a disappointment in Edmonton is an understatement. As Clinton points out in his article, he has spent the past three years bouncing between the NHL and the AHL. His NHL stats are less than stellar as well. He has played 139 NHL games with 17 goals and 20 assists to his credit.
Andersson of course, was the Rangers seventh overall pick in 2017, and has had a similar professional experience as Puljujarvi, bouncing between the NHL club and Hartford. Andersson is of course a center, and clocks in at 6’1″ – 190 lbs. His NHL totals include 49 games, with three goals and five assists.
Why the trade makes sense
While the jury is still out on Andersson in New York, there is a certain amount of belief out there in the fandom that he was not a very good draft pick by the Rangers. Being the number seven overall pick comes with certain expectations and to this point, for many, he has not met them.
Add to that the fact that the Rangers appear to deeper at the center position than at wing and his stock dips just a little lower.
Puljujarvi has had more time to develop and has just not reached his potential with the Oilers. He is a RFA this summer and it doesn’t appear that the salary crunched Oilers are going to be parting with any real money to keep him around.
Andersson on the other hand is signed for two more years at at the ELC level of $894K per. That’s the kind of salary Edmonton can afford.
So why would Edmonton part with a number four overall pick for a number seven overall pick? Simple, the math makes sense for them, Andersson is a year younger, he would be cheaper, and the bottom line is Puljujarvi has just not panned out for them. Can Oiler’s management really sell the fact that Puljujarvi is worth more than Andersson straight-up at this point?
The Rangers on the other hand get what? One disappointing draft pick for another who is a year older? Perhaps, but what they really get is a player with the same, if not more potential for scoring than Andersson, and swap a winger for a center.
But the real bet here is that if the Rangers do wind up with Kappo Kakko at the draft in a couple of weeks, adding another Finnish player to the mix, a young kid no less, can really help ease the transition for what is hopefully the next franchise player. The value in that can not be underestimated.
The value also goes both ways. Perhaps playing with Kakko, a fellow Finn, is exactly what Puljujarvi needs to turn his own NHL career around.
There are certainly enough Rangers fans out there who will shed no tears if the team trades Andersson, but can management get past the fact that they would be admitting to making a mistake in taking Andersson with the seventh overall pick?
It seems a lot less of a sell to the Blueshirt faithful if what they trade him for really makes sense and hits a certain mark.
This deal certainly seems like it would hit it dead center.