Three Former New York Rangers the team could bring back before the NHL Trade Deadline
By Conor Power
Anthony Duclair
A former child, the Rangers, drafted could come home now as a fully-fledged man. Anthony Duclair was drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round of the 2013 NHL entry draft. As the Point-Claire, Quebec native was a young lad. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in the deal that brought Keith Yandle to the Big Apple. Since, he has become a little big of a journeyman bouncing around from team to team.
Not including his debut with the Rangers, Duclair has gone on to play for the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers before eventually landing in San Jose with the Sharks this summer as he continues to try and get over that Achilles injury he suffered last year. He's not had any issues since, thankfully for the player, but it's worth noting.
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With a San Jose Sharks team this year that has been just awful, Duclair's netted nine times, in addition to eight helpers over his 46 games. It's not a great total, but how much of that can be attributed to the offensive struggles the San Jose Sharks have endured as a team, and how much is regression of the player as he gets past his 28th birthday? It's a difficult question.
He's also very much the budget option here. If the Rangers want to throw a mid-round pick at the problem, they have the cap space to take on Duclair's $3 million cap hit without too many troubles. It would make sense too, because the Rangers could play him almost anywhere in the lineup, and his speed would cause trouble for almost any defenseman in the NHL. It's something management has to discuss.