As the New York Rangers were pushing for a chance at the Stanley Cup, the 2023 deadline became the time for the Blueshirts to push everything forward and try to put themselves in a position to compete for the Stanley Cup. There were glaring weaknesses on the roster, but as the team was in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before, it seemed logical for Chris Drury and the front office to try and bolster the roster.
There would be three traded that greatly affected the roster. Each trade addressed a different issue that was supposed to bolster a roster that needed to be competitive. As Chris Drury was trying to make this roster better for the playoffs, the idea was to add talent and depth wherever possible. There wasn’t anything particularly crippling given up from the Rangers’ supply of future assets either.
Ultimately, the Rangers’ failure to escape the first round will make sure that these additions were seen as failures by most of the neutrals. For the New York Rangers front office, the success of these deals will not be judged until they know that they are unable to bring back any of the players they added in an attempt to go deep this season. It’s very unlikely given the current cap issues but if they can bring back a few, it’ll help ease the pain a little.
For the deals with the St Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, and Chicago Blackhawks, some are better than others as certain pieces had better postseasons than some of the others that were picked up as the Blueshirts pushed. Some of these players turned out to be what the Rangers were hoping, some were better than expected, and some did not live up to expectations at all. With the somber news of the Rangers’ season-ending still in the air, let’s take a look.