How the New York Rangers choked this trade deadline

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?