As a member of the New York Rangers, Jack Roslovic was underwhelming. With just nine goals combined last season between the Rangers and Blue Jackets, from whom the Blueshirts acquired the Columbus native, he struggled to impact the roster. General Manager Chris Drury chose to take the budget options at the trade deadline after swinging and missing on Jake Guentzel out of Pittsburgh. Roslovic was an acquisition, and he was... well, he was undoubtedly one of the trade deadline acquisitions of all time.
As a Ranger, he had three goals and five assists for eight points in 19 games. That's not great, but it's a solid point range. Over both teams, he had nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points. That's fair enough, as it reflects the point-per-game pace Roslovic had shown during his time as both a Blue Jacket and a Jet. Since then, Roslovic has made it his mission to prove he's much better than that.
In the summer, Roslovic signed with the Carolina Hurricanes as an unrestricted free agent. Drury let him go in favor of trading for Reilly Smith, adding Sam Carrick, and otherwise running it back with the same roster. With that in mind, Rosey has shown the Blueshirts that they needed to keep him, as his time in Carolina has seen him emerge as a star in a Rod Brind'amour system.
Through the first 12 games of the season, Roslovic has nine goals and an assist for ten points. That is a point pace of almost 70 over a full 82 games. He's shown himself to be a prominent goal scorer in the proper position, and his speed has him playing outstanding hockey for a division rival, leaving the Blueshirts to ponder the possibilities. It's never fun to see a deadline acquisition flourishing elsewhere and realize you could have kept them, but the Rangers probably could have kept Roslovic.
Roslovic would always be inexpensive and could have stayed with the Rangers. There was always a chance he could get a discount to play in our amazing city. Unfortunately, the concrete jungle was intimidating, and the quieter times of Raleigh had the speedy middle sixer playing with Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho on the roster that currently tops the division. While the high-flying Columbus native continues to succeed, the Rangers are left to rue what could have been.