Some big pieces leave
New York has had its fair share of dedicated servants to the hockey club, especially during the years the Blueshirts spent in the rebuild. After the Rangers spent big at the 2022 NHL trade deadline, there were inevitably going to be people that just couldn’t be re-signed due to the Salary Cap and the implications that it has on the teams in the NHL. There were going to be painful departures from the organization.
New York felt this when they were forced to move goaltender Alexander Georgiev and let go of forward Ryan Strome. Your Rangers were also forced to watch all of their trade deadline acquisitions find new homes since the Blueshirts did not have the means to extend the group they had. While they do have the players to replace what they lost now, it still isn’t easy to see these servants depart.
It’s never easy to see these players leave. Ryan Strome is now an Anaheim Duck. Alexander Georgiev is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Andrew Copp is now a Detroit Red Wing. Justin Braun opted to re-sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. Tyler Motte went and signed with the Ottawa Senators. This purging of the team that got to the Eastern Conference Finals was not easy to undergo, and the Rangers have felt the ramifications of their revamped roster.
While the Rangers did get to add forward Vincent Trocheck via free agency, it is still difficult to say that this was a sufficient replacement for everything the Rangers lost in the summer. Hopefully, the Blueshirts will get back to becoming one of the best teams in the NHL soon and the organization can go and get its fifth Stanley Cup banner sooner rather than later.