A “Not the New York Rangers All-Star team”

The New York Rangers organization gets a lot of heat from fans for making bad draft picks and failing to develop prospects.  In the past the team has given up on prospects who blossomed elsewhere.  How have they been doing recently?

Nothing irks fans more than a former prospect who becomes a star after leaving the New York Rangers.  There’s a long history of the team giving up on a prospect who went on to excel for another team.   The list can be nausea-inducing:  Rick Middleton, Dave Gagner, Tony Amonte, Mark Tinordi, Todd Marchant, Kim Johnsson, Tony Granato, Kelly Miller, Kjell Samuelsson, Doug Weight, Mattias Norstrom, Sergei Zubov, Fedor Tyutin and Manny Malhotra,

Many of these players were traded with the Blueshirts in a “win-now” mode, a worthy excuse for giving up a prospect if you actually win.   For that reason, as good as Tony Amonte, Todd Marchant and Doug Weight became, it was worth it because they were traded for players who won a Stanley Cup.

The truly depressing ones are when the Rangers gave up on a player too soon, sending him elsewhere for little return in an exchange of warm bodies with the proverbial “change in scenery” as a justification.  Dave Gagner, Mark Tinordi and Manny Malhotra fall into that category.

Then you have the bad deals and we won’t talk about those except to acknowledge that Rick Middleton is the poster child for bad hockey trades.

The current players

There are nine former Ranger draft picks currently playing for other NHL teams.  Four others are in the minor leagues or Europe.  Here is the “Ex-Ranger Prospect All-Star Team,”  starting with the top three forwards.

J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks – 1st Round, 2015, # 15

J.T. Miller makes the all-star team because of his outstanding season in Vancouver.  He is headed for a career season with 13 goals and 31 points in 33 games.   He is playing left wing on a line with Elias Pettersson and at this rate, will finish with 34 goals and 80 points.

Miller brought a combination of physical play and a scoring touch in his six  years in New York along with  propensity for making bonehead plays.  He scored 22 goals in his best season with the Rangers and was part of the February 2018 deal with Tampa.  One reason he was included was his need for a new contract and Tampa gave him five-year, $26.5 million deal that forced his trade to the Canucks this summer.

What Miller has proved since he left New York is that he excels when he plays with the best players.  He was a point-a-game player when teamed with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, just as he is in Vancouver playing with Pettersson.

Though Miller would be an asset if still with the team, that trade is still paying dividends for the Rangers.  Ranger fans can regret the deal, but it remains to be seen if Miller’s production will stay at this level.  It didn’t in Tampa.

Derek Stepan, Arizona Coyotes – 2nd Round, 2008, #51

The reason Derek Stepan is no longer a New York Ranger is the salary cap.  The team was forced to trade him before a No Trade Clause kicked in and he was sent to Arizona with Antti Raanta in exchange for a first round pick (Lias Andersson) and Anthony DeAngelo.

This is an example of a trade working out for both teams.  Stepan has continued to play at the same level he did with New York as a defensively conscientious center with the ability to score.  While he was shoehorned into the role of number one center with the Rangers, he will never embarrass you with his play.

He scored some big goals as a New York Ranger and continues to  play well though his numbers are off this season.  With five goals and 11 points in 35 games, he is not a prolific scorer, but he is a mainstay on an Arizona team that is in first place in the Pacific Division.

Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators – 3rd Round, 2013, #80

Anthony Duclair almost falls into the “one that got away” category.  He was traded to Arizona for Keith Yandle in a trade deadline deal that almost paid off big time for the Blueshirts when they fell just short of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Duclair was a failure in Arizona and became a journeyman, playing in Chicago and Columbus before ending up with Ottawa last season.  In what was likely to be his last shot in the NHL, Duclair has become the goal scorer everyone expected when he made the Rangers out of training camp in 2014 at age 19.

Duclair has exploded with 18 goals this season and is headed towards a 40 goal season.  He notched the third hat trick of his career in a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday.  It was sweet revenge for Duclair who was ripped by John Tortorella when he was with Columbus.

This is what Tortorella said: “I don’t think he knows how to play, I just think he thinks he can do  whatever the hell he wants on the ice. He can’t do it in the National Hockey League. We have spent a lot of time trying to teach him, trying to teach him situational play, away from the puck, all the stuff we do with players. Sometimes it looks like he’s understanding. I don’t know if he just can’t comprehend it or he’s just stubborn. But he’s running out of time.”

Take that Torts.