The New York Rangers roster feels incomplete depending on who you ask, and even though the team is almost up against the cap, there are moves that can be made to add some additional wiggle room. It had been reported that the Rangers were still interested in adding another forward, and naturally Patrick Kane is a name that was of interest to fans. Luckily for Chris Drury, Kane returned to the Chicago Blackhawks on a two-year deal that will pay him $8 million per season. The move is a blessing in disguise for the Blueshirts, as bringing back Kane wouldn't have been worth it.
The Rangers need to focus on the future
The Rangers currently have two veterans and two youngsters projected to be in the top six this season. Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault are the up and comers, while Pavel Bjorkstand and Pavel Dorofeyev are the "veterans". Next in line on the third line is Will Cuylle, and beyond that your guess is as good as mind. Had Kane been brought back into the fold, there's a good chance he'd have ended back in the top six which isn't what the team needs right now.
If the Rangers were acquiring another elite forward that pushed everyone on the depth chart down one rung, that would be acceptable. But taking a chance on someone who will be 38 in November... that would have been a classic Blueshirts blunder. Over the last three seasons in Detroit, Kane had 47 points in 50 games, 59 points in 72 games, and 57 points in 67 games. Staying healthy has been easier said than done, which is to be expected at his age.
Rangers have option in Hartford who will make a push
In addition to the players already on the roster, New York has a couple of interesting names who will be trying to earn some playing time with the varsity squad this season if they are promoted from Hartford. Liam Greentree, the Rangers' return from Los Angeles in the Artemi Panarin deal, is a name many expect to contend for a main spot in camp. There's also Nathan Aspinall who just had a career year in his final CHL season, and he's an actual certified #bigboi who can skate and generate offense.
Jacob Battaglia is another player with an outside chance of making noise, and then there's also Cole Beaudoin on the center front if an opportunity were opened up in the event J.T. Miller moved to the wing. In any case, these are the names the Rangers need to learn about.
Making the playoffs is important, but how they do that is more important. The Rangers released the Letter 2.0 to signal things were changing. They've made significant changes, and they need the young players they have brought in, and the ones who were already here, to show they can step into a role where they are driving the team's success.
There are only so many years left in which players like Mika Zibanejad and Miller can be counted on, and Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox aren't getting any younger. Adding a soon-to-be 38 year old Kane to the mix would have done nothing to help address that problem.
That he got $8 million is interesting, it feels like Chicago is paying a bit of a nostalgia tax, and it is good that the Rangers didn't get themselves in the Kane business again.
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