New York Rangers: Assessing the need for a big-name free agent

The dust has hardly settled on the St. Louis Blues’ Stanley Cup win and already there has been plenty of news to digest for the New York Rangers and the rest of the NHL.

Trade rumors, buyouts, draft nuggets and then the bombshell today that elite blueliner Erik Karlsson has penned an eight-year, $92 million dollar mega contract with the San Jose Sharks, which officially puts an end to all the chatter linking the Swede with the New York Rangers.

Then the news broke that the Rangers had traded for Jacob Trouba who conceivably could anchor their defense for the next seven or eight years though he will need a new contract come 2020-21.

So, that raises the all-important question, should the Blueshirts turn their attention away from a big ticket free agent this offseason?

There are of course a wealth of other options available on the market, including elite playmaker Artemi Panarin and stud center Matt Duchene, although given the Rangers’ logjam in the middle of the ice a deal for the latter wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

Bringing Panarin to The Big Apple wouldn’t be a surprise given that it has been a rumor that refuses to go away, especially since John Davidson took over as the new President of the Rangers with the pair having previously worked together at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Panarin would bring a wealth of star power to Broadway and he would pack quite the offensive punch on a young team still navigating its way through a rebuild.

He is a proven performer in the NHL and 320 points in 322 NHL career games, including 28 goals and 59 assists for 87 points in 2018-19, tells you all you need to know about his many talents.

However, is going after a big name free agent really the smart move for the Rangers right now given where they currently stand as a franchise?

We’ve made the case on this site for entertaining the idea of signing a superstar in the ilk of Panarin, but let’s consider the other side of this argument for now.

Would it be more beneficial for the Rangers to spend a chunk of their $20 million treasure chest on supplementary players to be able to plug in and around their glut of young talent and high-end prospects?

It is the same discussion that is currently raging on in the NBA at the minute with the Los Angeles Lakers, having acquired Anthony Davies in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, now facing a decision whether to bring in a third star or instead pad out their roster with role players.

It is an intriguing debate and one for which there may well be no immediate right or wrong answer at the moment.

Recruiting a player of Panarin’s calibre has its obvious positives, the main one being that he would bring anywhere between 60-80 points to the table and, as a result, help to accelerate this rebuild.

But, all things considered, would it be more beneficial looking at the long-term picture for the Rangers to spend some of their riches this offseason on role players who can come in and help the likes of Adam Fox, Vitali Kravtsov and Kaapo Kakko (presuming everything goes to plan at the Draft on Friday) to develop?

That could be the way forward for the front office rather than bringing in a big name and sending expectations through the roof, high hopes that would only end up on the shoulders of players still trying to cut their teeth in the NHL.

Instead, delve beneath the obvious names and there are a plethora of players out there that could pad out the roster and serve to elevate this rebuild and this current crop of prospects to the next level at a slower and more manageable pace.

So, while making an almighty splash in free agency and handing a monster deal to an absolute stud is the sexy option, maybe it would be wise for the Blueshirts to be plain and boring this offseason.

And, as a result, the franchise could put away some of that $20 million for a rainy day and save it for when this rebuild is at a more advanced stage.

All in all, the New York Rangers will play their cards close to their chests over the coming weeks in terms of their plan of attack for free agency, but maybe missing out on Erik Karlsson wasn’t so bad after all.