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How did the New York Rangers build the top farm system in the NHL?

By Anthony Tornatore Jr

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: A general view of the New York Rangers draft table is seen during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: A general view of the New York Rangers draft table is seen during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 25: New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton attends the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 25: New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton attends the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Rangers are coming off of one of there most successful off-seasons in a very long time. After drafting Kappo Kakko and signing Artemi Panarin, the Blueshirts are looking to be a playoff contender right away. How did the Rangers get to this point and how did they build one of the best farm systems in all of hockey?

Even though it’ll be a few years until the New York Rangers are in the conversation as contenders for a Stanley Cup championship, they are well on their way back to become a force in the playoffs. The Rangers front office, especially General Manager Jeff Gorton, has been working very hard in acquiring draft capital, mostly by letting go of players on the tail end of their contracts.

This all starts with making trades. It’s very hard to deal away fan favorites like Mats Zuccarello, and Kevin Hayes, but when the end result is more draft picks for the upcoming years, then you have to do it. These players have made big names for themselves and are difference makers, but are not in the future plans.

One name that comes to mind is Rick Nash. Nash was the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and won the Maurice Richard Trophy in the 2003-2004 season as leading scorer. After six years with the Rangers, and at the age of 33, the team decided to part ways and send Nash to the Boston Bruins for Ryan Lindgren, a 2018 first round pick, a 2019 seventh round pick, Ryan Spooner, and Matt Beleskey. Nash would actually go on to retire at the end of that season.

The very next day in 2018, the Rangers would send Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a 2018 first round pick (Nils Lundkvist) and a 2019 conditional second round pick (Karl Henriksson). Yu can already see this trade turning out in favor of the Rangers. Hajek has already proved himself and is already on the first line as a defender and Howden is just getting his feet wet on the third line. Meanwhile, Lundkvist and Henriksson are playing in the top league in Sweden and look to be making the move to North America soon.

Both of these trades by Gorton are only a tiny sample size of what deals he’s made. He’s turned aging players into young prospects that will be the future of the Blueshirts. Not only has he made trades for players with a very high upside, but he’s also made acquisitions for a lot of draft picks in the 2018 and 2019 NHL Entry’s Draft.

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