Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers: What the Blueshirts could get in return for Jimmy Vesey

By Andrew Steele-Davis

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 22: Neal Pionk #44 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal with teammate Jimmy Vesey #26 during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena on December 22, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 22: Neal Pionk #44 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal with teammate Jimmy Vesey #26 during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena on December 22, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
BUFFALO, NY – APRIL 2: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres heads to the ice to play against the Nashville Predators during an NHL game on April 2, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – APRIL 2: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres heads to the ice to play against the Nashville Predators during an NHL game on April 2, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Jake McCabe

The Rangers need some grit and they also could do with a true stay-at-home defenseman who gets the job done with minimal fuss.

Jake McCabe ticks that box and, if we were the Blueshirts front office, we would be making it a priority to include the tough-as-nails blueliner as part of any trade package with the Buffalo Sabres.

Drafted by Buffalo 44th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, McCabe has carved out a solid career for himself in the majors so far.

Now, he won’t grab any headlines and he’s not going to feature on too many highlight reels, but he’s built his career on being a superb shutdown defenseman and he would be the perfect fit for the Rangers.

Responsible in his own zone, heavy in the corners, able to hit like an absolute train and reliable when it comes to finishing his checks and leaving a mark on both the game and his opponents, McCabe has morphed into Mr. Reliable for the Sabres.

He averaged 18:57 minutes of ice time per game in an injury-shortened season in 2018-19, logging big minutes in critical situations and also being deployed on the top penalty kill unit alongside Rasmus Ristolainen.

McCabe demands a certain presence when he’s on the ice and that is something the Rangers are severely lacking in their own zone.

BUFFALO, NY – MARCH 31: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres skates before an NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 31, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – MARCH 31: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres skates before an NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 31, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Kevin Shattenkirk is a liability in the defensive zone, Marc Staal’s best years are behind him and Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skjei, Neal Pionk and Adam Fox are all more offensive minded.

McCabe would act as a much-needed security blanket on the Rangers blueline and he’s also got the 6’1″ 206 lb frame to be able to stand up for and protect his younger team-mates.

Not only that but the left-shot is no letdown when it comes to the offensive production side of the game, either.

He posted four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 2018-19 in just 59 games after missing time with an upper-body injury.

You could argue that he could have matched or even eclipsed his career-high of 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) achieved in 2016-17 had he not missed so much time, but that level of production for a true stay-at-home defenseman is impressive nonetheless.

Arguably the biggest upside to including McCabe as part of a Jimmy Vesey trade is how little it would cost to have the blueliner on the roster.

Set to become a restricted free agent this summer, McCabe is currently carrying a cap hit of $1,600,000 and the Rangers probably wouldn’t have to jump up too much in order to re-sign him.

At just 25-years-old McCabe still has his best years of hockey ahead of him and it is perhaps fair to say that he’s yet to reach the peak of his powers when it comes to potential.

With all that being considered, it would make perfect sense for the Rangers to push to get McCabe included as part of a package that would send Vesey to Buffalo given what they would be getting in return.

An old-fashioned stay-at-home defenseman who can hit, do the ugly things well, play on the top unit of the penalty kill and shutdown the opposition’s top lines, McCabe would check off a lot of boxes for the New York Rangers and fill a lot of the needs they are currently lacking.

Home/Analysis