The New York Rangers have set their focus on trading away players before the March 6 trade deadline. Carson Soucy is already gone, heading to Long Island to play for the rival Islanders. The Rangers are expected to trade more players, such as Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Braden Schneider. Yet, that doesn't mean they couldn't add players.
With Schneider on the trade block and Adam Fox still sidelined with an injury, the Rangers claimed San Jose Sharks defenseman Vincent Iorio off of waivers. He has only 30 career NHL games to his credit, what can Rangers fans realistically expect from him?
How about one of the bright young stars in the entire NHL fills you in. San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini recently discussed the Sharks placing Iorio on waivers, and revealed that the Rangers were getting "a hell of a player."
"It's tough. I know our roster and the numbers we have, it's tough…He’s a hell of player, that’s why he got picked up," Celebrini told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
Rangers' Vincent Iorio just got a strong vote of confidence from Macklin Celebrini
Sure, Celebrini is hyping up his friend and former teammate, but these comments are worth something, right?
It's no secret that the Rangers' free fall officially began after the Winter Classic, when both Fox and star goalie Igor Shesterkin suffered injuries in a game against the Utah Mammoth on Jan. 5. Since then, the Rangers lost 10 of their next 12 games. That resulted in the Rangers deciding to begin their retool. There are going to be openings on defense, which does open the door for Iorio to get some playing time with a team that is going to be getting rid of players.
Iorio played in 21 games this season, recording just three assists and a plus/minus of -4. Head coach Mike Sullivan recently said that the extended Olympic break will allow Iorio to catch up and get a feel for the defensive system.
“It will give him an opportunity to spend some time with coaches, going through some of the details on how we’re trying to play, the X’s and O’s, the team strategy, so to speak, that might be a little bit different than where he came from,” Sullivan said, h/t SNY's Ben Krimmel. “From that standpoint, [the break] will be a huge help, he’ll get some reps in practice, he’ll get an opportunity to know his teammates, and then he’ll have an opportunity to spend some time with [David Quinn] in particular coaching the defensemen.”
The Rangers are going to look different in the coming weeks, depending on what trades they make. However, one player who could get some decent playing time in the latter portion of this season is Iorio. The team has big expectations for him, and he has a vote of endorsement from Celebrini.