Which Rangers deadline trade was the best value?
It’s no secret that the New York Rangers went big at the trade deadline. Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, and Tyler Motte brought in a strong group to support a team that has been rather inconsistent this season. Since the additions, there have been some obvious growing pains watching the adjustments these players have needed to make to help the Rangers in a new scenario, but they’ve made the team stronger.
When Tarasenko became a Ranger, many thought that it took the Blueshirts out of the chase to land Patrick Kane. As we know, that proved not to be the case because Kane seemingly only wanted to come to this city, and this team. There have been theories that perhaps Rangers and Knicks owner James Dolan saw the outbursts of Kane’s disappointment in Chicago and urged Drury to get it done but we may never know the truth.
Tyler Motte was on this team last year. Most of the guys know him from the playoff run last year as the group overcame the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes before giving the Tampa Bay Lightning everything they could handle and more. Bringing back a depth piece like Motte who made such a big difference on the penalty kill and in the bottom six made sense because of the familiarity this organization had with the player.
Niko Mikkola was a big piece in the Tarasenko deal. Drury wanted to address that 3rd pairing left-side defense and he got the gigantic Finnish defenseman in the deal alongside Tarasenko. With the hulking defenseman having stepped into a big role in the prolonged absence of Ryan Lindgren, he showed that he is exactly the kind of player that Chris Drury needed to go out and get at the trade deadline ahead of another playoff push.
So which trade was the best value for the Rangers? When the Rangers started their foray into the trade market, there was a lot going on in the way of player evaluations and rumors as to what each player’s asking price was. At the time of the trade, what addition for the Blueshirts was allowing Chris Drury and the front office to get the most bang for their buck?
Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola
This was the trade that came first so it only feels right that we start with what came first. This deal with St Louis was not entirely expected as trades in this sport rarely are. However, most people recognized the value of this deal as soon as they saw it. It addressed needs in the top six among the forwards, and it strengthened the blueline to no end with one trade. It seemed to remove every weakness the roster had.
First, start with the new Rangers. Vladimir Tarasenko came across as someone who reportedly wanted out of St Louis yesterday due to an incompetence to help him with the ongoing injury issues Tarasenko had sustained during his time in the midwest. Upon arriving in New York, he and long-time friend Artemi Panarin seemed instantly to be able to connect and get along and it helped Tarasenko settle down in the Big Apple.
As for Niko Mikkola, a lot of people thought the back end was an issue and that they needed to get tougher. So, Chris Drury went out to get a defenseman who is actually really solid with his positioning and with his ability to help out in the defensive zone, and even provide a little when the puck is in the attacking zone. To go along with the skill, he is bigger than the team refrigerator. It was everything the Rangers needed.
What departed? Well, picks for one. One of the two 2023 1st round picks that the Rangers possess will end up in St Louis as a result of this trade. It is whichever pick between the Rangers’ and the Stars’ is later in the draft. There is also a 2024 4th rounder that will become a 3rd rounder as soon as the Rangers punch their playoff ticket this year.
Hunter Skinner also went out the door as a bright young prospect. This isn’t the most painful of losses, but it is never fun to see young kids that your favorite team has drafted and developed for years be dealt away. It’s understandable why they did it, but it’s still not easy. Sammy Blais also went the other way. Blais was a non-factor in New York and has decided to turn into Connor McDavid himself back in St Louis.
This was a pretty fair value trade, and I don’t think that this is going to change moving forward. Unless the Blues get two steals in the draft, a deep playoff run for the Rangers will make this an easy victory moving forward. Picking up an ideal defenseman and a forward that has been one of the most feared snipers in the league for almost a decade for that is a pretty solid value, even if the sniper is now declining.
Tyler Motte
When you go to the well once, it’s not uncommon to return when you see how well it works for the beneficiary. That was the case here with Tyler Motte. The Rangers opted to go back to the same depth forward they did last season when they were seeking help in their bottom six. It was a player the Rangers knew meshed well with the core of guys they have in place and went to pick him up from Ottawa.
To acquire the forward, the Rangers parted with forward Julien Gauthier. This is the kind of move that may bite the Rangers down the road. Gauthier has always played well but he’s got no finishing ability. It really started to haunt him during the final days of his Rangers tenure because as much as the organization wanted to move him up the lineup, they just could not justify it. There was also a 7th rounder involved, but big whoop.
Since arriving in New York, Tyler Motte has had three goals and three assists for six points at the time of writing. To put this into perspective, Julien Gauthier had six goals and three assists in New York. Gauthier played half the season in New York this year and Motte has been in the Big Apple for 2 months. It’s paid dividends almost immediately as the Rangers look to embark on another deep playoff run.
This could bite the organization if the Senators hit a home run with that 7th-round pick, or if Gauthier discovered what shooting for the corners of the net is like. It’s not a certainty that this deal continues to be the steal that it has been up to this point for the Chris Drury and the Blueshirts front office, but the Ranges did their homework and it really looks to be paying off with this minor move.
Patrick Kane
When the Rangers acquired Tarasenko from St Louis, the Chicago Blackhawks had a winger who is destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame who was unhappy because he wanted to be a New York Ranger. When that was heard around the league, Chris Drury and the company started jumping through all sorts of hoops to make the money work so we can say that Patrick Kane is a Ranger.
Patrick Kane was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks and funneled through the leagues’ version of an off-shore bank account in the Virgin Islands in the Arizona Coyotes. That was to allow the Rangers to take on just a quarter of Kane’s original $10.5 million cap hit. With the Blueshirts having been pressed to the cap since the trade, it’s been a difficult situation moving forward.
In order to acquire arguably the greatest American Born player of all time, the Rangers were forced to part with Andy Welinski, a 2nd and a 4th. That is what went to the Blackhawks. New York was forced to give up an additional 3rd rounder to the Coyotes to make sure the deal went through and the Rangers were under the cap after the trade, which they were… just about. But it wasn’t just Kane that they got.
New York also picked up Cooper Zech who is likely not going to be a factor long-term when we look back at this. So, it was 3 mid-round picks and a depth player for one of the greatest US-born players of all time. If you just look at the trade itself, it looks like Drury stole Kyle Davidsson’s phone, forged his signature, and committed several counts of fraud. You can be sure he didn’t because there is more to this.
Kane had been dealing with a lingering hip issue as a member of the Blackhawks. Elliotte Freidman of Sportsnet reported that it may be something he needs to have surgically cleaned up this summer. Kane also had a no-movement clause has a no-movement clause meaning he was in complete control of his trade destination. That alone would force Davidsson into lowering the price immensely.
Which is the best value?
I’m not going to cheap out and I will give my definitive opinion, but all of these trades were really good value at the time. There’s a chance some of these deals will blow up awfully in the face of the New York Rangers, but as of the time of writing, there’s not a lot to be unhappy about with how Chris Drury and the Rangers front office approached the trade deadline. They got everything on the shopping list.
For me, the best value here has to be the Chicago trade. To get Patrick Kane for the price of a packet of Doritos and a Best Buy coupon like that is some fine work from the Rangers and their front office. This deal will also rear the most issues for the Blueshirts moving forward due to the cap issues that the Blueshirts are currently experiencing due to the cap hit Patrick Kane has with even 75% retained.
I do think there needs to be a mention here of the Motte deal. Seeing as Tyler Motte has almost outproduced Julien Gauthier’s entire season in New York in less than 20 games despite missing multiple games with injuries. Motte’s been an incredible addition to this roster and the price they got him for is almost nothing. He’s not going to decide games, but he could be a big part of a series.
Tarasenko and Mikkola was an incredible deal itself. We’ve seen both look like they’ve been missing pieces the Rangers were so desperate for at the start of the year, and Mikkola has shown that he can even play capably up the lineup in a post-season atmosphere if he is asked to which makes that back end so much stronger. This in general was a really strong deadline for the Blueshirts.