How the New York Rangers choked this trade deadline
“Was it good for you?” is a terribly insecure sentence, but that’s exactly what New York Rangers fans are asking each other? “Was the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline good for you?” Or for the Rangers for that matter?
The anticipation was thick. The air was palpable and the fans were on the edge of their seats checking every Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, TSN, and MSG tweet and instagram post. The rumors ran rampant and the fans expected the New York Rangers to make a decision on both their immediate and long-term future.
Instead, they did the unexpected.
Unexpected turn of events
We should start off by addressing that the Rangers endured the best case of a bad scenario. Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Buchnevich narrowly avoided season-ending injuries. If anything can be learned from the experience – “Wear your seat belts, kids!”
As many of us know, driving in any of the five boroughs is the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette with all six chambers loaded. People reinvent lanes and the rules of the road on the fly and road rage is all the rage at any given moment. For the two of them to walk away with minimal injuries is a blessing from the Hockey Gods.
However, there is a conspiracy theory afoot (started right here and now by yours truly) that this car “accident” was no “accident.” (Extra emphasis on the air-quotes) Word on the streets of Brooklyn is that this was a hit put out by the New York Islanders. The Islanders have long-standing criminal relations with the Bravta family out of Brighton Beach and once Lou Lamoriello learned that Jeff Gorton wasn’t going to trade him Chris Kreider, Uncle Lou called in ‘a favor.’
Luckily, the Russian Mob refused to take out two of their fellow countrymen, so they settled with a ‘warning.’
All jokes aside, this is just an unfortunate turn of events. This event single-handedly altered what could have been a drastic overhaul of expiring contracts.
The three-headed goaltending elephant in the room
The car accident directly impacted one crucial trade scenario. Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev and Henrik Lundqvist are all proven number one goaltenders. Shesterkin had clearly won the starting position, despite the pedigree and credentials of the other two. His health made either Georgiev or Lundqvist (despite the no-movement clause) expendable.
Georgiev’s entry-level contract made him the most desirable belle at the ball for teams in need of goaltender. Colorado, Toronto and San Jose were all tied to Georgiev at one juncture or another and it was believed that the highest bidder would walk away with 24-year old.
Another scenario, though far more unlikely, involved the King himself. Henrik Lundqvist, if agreeing to waive his movement clause, was rumored to be a piece in a blockbuster deal that would send him and Chris Kreider to Colorado. The return was unspecified, but it would have been a major salary dump that the New York boys in blue could utilize this offseason.
All of this was negated by the the car accident. The Rangers opted to stand pat on both Georgiev and Lundqvist. Perhaps management feared that any major move would rattle the locker room even more than the car accident already did. Perhaps they felt that Adam Huska wasn’t ready to be an NHL backup. Perhaps there wasn’t a deal in place, but regardless – nothing happened.
Actually – retract that. Something worse happened. Lundqvist backed up Georgiev against the Islanders on Tuesday night. The New York Rangers have essentially said that Lundqvist is the third-goalie, which he may be, but it is disrespectful regardless. The inaction, despite circumstances, is an insult to the winningest goaltender in Rangers’ history.
Brady Skjei you later
As previously stated, Skjei would have been treated a lot differently if he weren’t playing alongside Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox. His $5.25 million over six-years felt cumbersome considering he had yet to put a season together that rivaled his rookie campaign.
The New York Rangers have a plethora of prospects on the blueline and New York needed to clear some cap somewhere if they hoped to retain any of the players who are uncertain of their next contract this offseason. Outside of somehow moving Henrik Lundqvist, this made the most sense. Is it all the money the Rangers need? No. Is it a step in the right direction? Yes.
There’s no ill-will between the New York Rangers fanbase and Brady Skjei. If anything, fans are hoping the 25-year old bounces back in Carolina. He was someone fans had hoped the Blueshirts could build around, but that experiment didn’t pan out. A first-round draft pick and a salary dump is more than a fair return on Skjei despite the Hurricanes knowing that the Rangers’ hands were tied.
Perhaps the biggest ‘L’ in trading Brady Skjei isn’t necessarily hockey related. Former-NHLer and current Spittin’ Chiclets podcast host, Ryan Whitney pointed out, “You’re losing maybe the hottest guy in hockey too, so tough loss in the man rocket department for the Rangers.”
That wasn’t my initial reaction to the trade, but perhaps Ryan Whitney brings up a strong reason for this trade. Perhaps there was some in-house jealousy amongst the Blueshirts? Maybe? Probably not.
(Un)restricted free agents
Jesper Fast, Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo, Alexandar Georgiev, Brendan Lemieux and Chris Kreider were all on expiring contracts going into the trade deadline. Chris Kreider is now the exception (to be continued…), but the rest are still uncertain of their futures with the club.
What’s frustrating is that they all had tremendous trade value. Brendan Lemieux and Ryan Strome were more than likely not getting moved, but Fast, DeAngelo, Georgiev and Kreider were all expected to garner valuable returns that would help the Rangers prepare for the 2021-2022 season, which is when they are expected to be at their most competitive.
Instead the only trade made was involving Brady Skjei. Trading away Skjei essentially ensures that the Rangers will be able to bring back at least some of these players, but that’s still not a given. Ryan Strome might turn around and ask for a contract that’s similar to that of J.T. Miller or Kevin Hayes. There’s no denying that Artemi Panarin and he have a strong working relationship and he might use that as leverage in the off-season.
Will the Rangers trade Georgiev’s rights in the off-season? Will they trade Strome’s if he’s seeking too pricey a payday? There are still so many unresolved questions that the Rangers made no real headway in a definitive direction of the franchise.
Buchnevich’s injury threw a temporary wrench into the proceedings sure, but the value for all of these players has never been higher and for the Rangers to not take advantage of that is a mistake.
Chris Kreider
Speaking of mistakes – Chris Kreider’s newest contract will be a long-standing dagger in the sides of fans IF a Stanley Cup is not won by its end.
2014 gave the Rangers a taste. In a laughable five-game series, the LA Kings took the hopes of a Stanley Cup right out of Henrik Lundqvist’s deserving hands. Because of that, anything short of the Cup isn’t good enough. Being competitive isn’t good enough. Winning the division isn’t good enough.
Chris Kreider was the number one player on TSN Hockey’s Trade Bait List for months. Teams were expected to offer a first-round draft pick, a prospect and perhaps even an NHL ready player. No player on the trade market had more trade value in the entire league.
With that in mind, let’s agree on a universal truth: It is a long shot for the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup this season. They’re not far off, but they’re still a few pieces shy of accomplishing what they couldn’t in 2014.
So, here’s the primary reason the New York Rangers a hundred percent choked this trade deadline: they should have thought with their heads and not their hearts and traded Chris Kreider away. The value for Kreider will never be that high again. Simply put – it was bad business.
If the New York Rangers were committed to retaining Chris Kreider, here’s what they should have done. They should have made the trade regardless and brought him back in the off-season. For anyone saying that Chris Kreider wouldn’t have come back to Manhattan, you’re wrong. And look no further than Antoine Vermette and the Arizona Coyotes in 2015.
At the trade deadline in 2015, the Coyotes traded Vermette to the Chicago Blackhawks where he went on to win the Stanley Cup with the organization. Vermette than immediately re-signed with the Coyotes weeks later. There was enough trust between the organization and the player that both parties won what they wanted.
If the Rangers traded Chris Kreider to a serious contender – Boston, St. Louis, Colorado – he hypothetically could have gone on to compete for a Stanley Cup and then brought him back, Kreider is instantly more valuable, because he brings back more experience that he can then pass down to the younger players.
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Instead, Rangers management binge-watched a bunch of RomComs and decided to throw all logic out the window. John Davidson and Jeff Gorton choked hard on this. Chris Kreider wants to be a Ranger. He’s made that abundantly clear. He would have come back and played under the same contract if offered it a few months later.
Also, for some reason the vast majority of fans have developed short-term memory. Up until this year, fans scolded Kreider for his inability to remain consistent. We screamed at our televisions for him to “drive to the net!” Now that he’s finally done that somewhat constantly, all seems to be forgiven and forgotten.
In three years, when Chris Kreider has only had one thirty goal season under his belt and his downhill style of play wears on his knees, like it does most power forwards, fans are going to look back at this trade deadline and shake their heads.
And before long we will have an Andrew Ladd scenario on our hands.
With all that said… if the New York Rangers manage to win a Stanley Cup within the next three to five years… none of this will matter.
Stanley Cup trumps all other heartache.
Winners(?)
A number of NHL and sports websites have dubbed the New York Rangers – ‘Winners’ for this year’s end of February festivities. Is that the truth though? Did the Rangers win? Do the actions of Monday’s swap meet make the team any closer to winning?
If anything, it appears that the team failed to capitalize on the opportunity presented to them. Had the car accident not occurred, we might be having a different conversation. Instead, fans find themselves in another period of ‘Wait and See.’
The team is currently playing their best hockey in years and it is genuinely fun to watch this team most nights. Mike Zibanejad’s overtime goal on Tuesday was a treat and there is still a chance the Rangers make it to the playoffs.
Purgatory – will they make it, won’t they make it? Let’s wait and see…
What do you think? As a Rangers fan, was the 2020 deadline good for you?
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