What the Rangers got for a thriving alumni association
In an intermission during the New York Rangers game in Anaheim, MSG presented it’s usual MSG150 highlights segment. The thing that made it unusual (and a little irritating) was that it featured a series of goals scored by ex-Rangers. Let’s take a look.
The segment covered games on Friday and Saturday. We’ll tackle Friday first.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7
Ex-Rangers lit up the scoresheets in the only two games in the NHL on Friday. Pavel Buchnevich was named first star of the game and is really looking like he is determined to make this one of the worst deals in Blueshirts’ history. The southern version of the Rangers, known as the Carolina Hurricanes, were in action with Brady Skjei named the first star and Jesper Fast the third star of their game.
Blues 5, Capitals 1: Buchnevich
This one hurts the most as Pavel Buchnevich added to his already excellent numbers with two goals and an assist. His first goal was the game winner and he added a shorthanded goal in the third period. The only consolation is he helped the Rangers by beating the Capitals. Buchnevich has 13 goals and 33 points in 32 games, picking up when he left off last season.
Hurricanes 6, Flames 3: Skjei, DeAngelo, Fast, Stepan
Brady Skjei led the Hurricanes with a goal and two assists. Tony DeAngelo scored the game winning goal while Derek Stepan and Jesper Fast added one goal each.
Skjei tied his career high with three points, a total he reached once before as a Rangers. DeAngelo has two game winning goals for Carolina and leads all Carolina defensemen in scoring. Jesper Fast played in his 500th game and has eight goals and 13 points while Stepan has four goals and eight points as a fourth line center.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8
Ex-Rangers made the scoresheet in four of the 11 games on the NHL schedule. The Rangers should be glad they held Kevin Shattenkirk off the scoresheet in their game with Anaheim. Anthony Duclair got second star honors for his heroics Saturday night.
Panthers 4, Hurricanes 3 OT: Duclair, Skjei, DeAngelo
Anthony Duclair won the game for the Panthers, scoring 2:53 into overtime. It was his second game winning goal of the season. Brady Skjei continued his hot scoring with another goal, the third straight game he has scored while DeAngelo got an assist on a first period power play.
Anthony Duclair continues to be a big scorer for the Panthers. He now has 14 goals and 25 points in 27 games, far ahead of the 10 goals he scored in 43 games last season for Florida.
Skjei is red hot with four goals and six points in his last three games and five goals and 13 points on the season. DeAngelo has six goals and 24 points and leads the team with eight power play assists.
Wild 3, Capitals 2 Shootout: Zuccarello
Rangers favorite Mats Zuccarello scored the game tying goal for Minnesota with 35 seconds left in the third period. In a total oddity, ex-Ranger Carl Hagelin shot the puck into his own net on a delayed penalty, giving the Wild their first goal of the game. So, another former Rangers scored on Saturday night, only he didn’t.
Zuccarello, 34, is having an excellent season in Minnesota, playing with Kirill Kaprisov. He has nine goals and 27 points in 27 games and looks to be headed for his best season since the Rangers traded him in 2019.
Blue Jackets 4, Devils 3: Vesey
Jimmy Vesey had a goal and an assist in the Devils 4-3 loss to Columbus, his first multi-point game of the season . After a lost season in 2020-21 when he was shunted from Toronto to Vancouver, he was a free agent signed by the Devils and has been a useful depth forward. He has played in 32 games and has six goals and 10 points. He is headed for his best season since 2018-19, his last year with the Rangers.
Sharks 3, Flyers 2 OT: Hayes
Kevin Hayes had one assist in Philadelphia’s overtime loss to the Sharks. He has three goals and nine points in 17 games while enduring numerous injuries this season.
Okay, now we now how they did. What do the Rangers have to show for losing all of these players?
What did we get in return?
Whenever we hear about ex-Rangers scoring, Ranger fans wince. These two days were especially hard to take considering the return the Blueshirts got for all of these players.
We’ve talked about the Pavel Buchnevich deal and the Sammy Blais injury has made it even more one-sided. The hope has to be that second round draft pick acquired in the deal will turn into an NHL player. That would make the trade much more palatable, but we won’t know for many years.
Brady Skjei was a disappointment in New York and had to be dealt for salary cap purposes. The first round pick they got in return eventually turned in Braden Schneider and that one may even out in the long run.
Derek Stepan was the first piece in the Rangers’ rebuild, traded to Arizona with Antti Raanta in 2017. The Rangers got Tony DeAngelo and Lias Andersson. Ugh. They were able to get a second round pick for Andersson from the Kings and if Will Cuylle becomes a serviceable NHL winger, it won’t hurt so much, but right now, that deal could be considered a disaster.
Anthony Duclair was traded so long ago, it’s hard to say that they should have kept him. He was part of the package the Blueshirts sent to Arizona in 2015 for Keith Yandle when the team thought that Yandle was the final piece of a Stanley Cup puzzle. Duclair was a washout in Arizona, Chicago and Columbus before revitalizing his career in Ottawa. If the Rangers had not traded him would he have become the player that he is now, just earlier and in New York? Who knows.
Mats Zuccarello was headed towards free agency and was sent to Dallas at the trade deadline in 2019 for two draft picks. The second round pick in 2019 was for defenseman Matthew Robertson and he has potential to make it to the Rangers’ blueline. The third round pick in 2020 is prospect Oliver Tarnstrom who has shown some scoring potential in Swedish junior hockey. It’s hard to argue with that trade, but we haven’t seen the benefits yet.
Kevin Hayes was traded at the deadline in 2019 to the Winnipeg Jets for a first round pick in 2019, Brendan Lemieux and a fourth round pick this year. Due to become a free agent, it was a solid return for a player they had no intention of signing. Of course, the first round pick was sent back to Winnipeg along with Neal Pionk in exchange for Jacob Trouba. Lemieux went to the Kings for a fourth round pick in 2021.
So, in essence, it was Hayes and Pionk for Trouba, one year of Lemieux and two draft picks. The 2021 selection was highly regard forward Brody Lamb who is at least four or five years away and they still have Winnipeg’s fourth round pick this year. Until this season that deal didn’t look great, but Trouba has stepped up as a team leader and the Rangers may still emerge as a big winner in that deal.
Jimmy Vesey was sent to Buffalo in 2019 for a third round pick in the 2021 draft. The Rangers selected Jayden Grubbe who has shown limited potential as a prospect. They needed to clear cap space to sign Artemi Panarin, so we cannot argue with this deal.
Anthony DeAngelo was bought out after his fisticuffs with Alexandar Georgiev ended his career in New York. Not only did the Rangers get nothing in return for him, but they are paying him amost $400k to NOT play for them this season (and $885k next season too).
Jesper Fast was the only one of these players who left as a free agent and the Blueshirts never could have afforded to pay him what the Hurricanes did.
Don’t feel bad
While it seems like there were a disproportionate number of former Rangers scoring and the Blueshirts have nothing to show for it, that is just not true. As we all know, it takes years before you are able to bestow a grade on a trade and considering that the Blueshirts still hold several draft picks and some of the picks they have already made are highly regarded prospects, most of these deals could end up in the win column for New York.
Hey, the Rangers are one of the top teams in the NHL this season. If all of these deals result in an even stronger Ranger team in years to come, that is really not a bad thing.
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