The New York Rangers offense of late is still trying to find consistent footing, and given the last PTO news for Luke Glendening, it is fair to wonder if there are better options to consider bringing in to address larger areas of need.
After getting shelled by the New Jersey Devils, the team responded with a loss that wasn't just your typical defeat... instead it was a a 1-0 overtime blanking in Columbus. Questions were starting to arise, and thankfully the 5-2 explosion over Anaheim seems to point to the Rangers being back on track, but it has been a roller coaster to say the least.
Alexis Lafrenière, Tye Kartye, Mika Zibanejad, and J.T. Miller have contributed well this season, but the lackluster play of others is still overshadowing. Particularly Pavel Dorofeyev, who has now been removed from the first power play unit for Gabe Perreault for accountability reasons.
Maybe, instead of continuously shifting the lineup to figure out how to fix it, there is an external option out there. He could be signed for cheap, and has a couple of Stanley Cups to his name. He is also very well known for being a goal-scorer, and establishing himself quickly on a new team.
Why not give Vladimir Tarasenko a shot?
Cheap goal-scorer
Tarasenko is still without a deal at the moment, and has recently fired his agent. It is a very big surprise that no one has claimed him, but it might be because he is waiting on the right team.
You could think that it is a team that he played for already, as many of the former teams have enjoyed nice starts to this season. Or, he could be waiting on the team that drafted him to take another chance on him in St. Louis.
The Rangers, at 7-3-1, are the best of his former teams, and make the most sense for him. If the Blueshirts cannot go for a goaltender, and have to stick with Garand and, when healthy, Korpisalo, for the rest of the season, the best they can do is to try and get Tarasenko for cheap offensive help.
More depth as injury bug could strike again
As we have seen with the other parts of the roster that have experienced the injury bug, there needs to be some depth. Now, that is not to say that the prospect pool is the way to go, and the recent PTO signing of Luke Glendening could be a sign that they are done signing anyone else, but this team should be in the contender conversation. As such, the idea of winning now, and not focusing on development, is what should be on the ice every night.
We saw in this most recent 5-2 win over Anaheim, as Zibanejad took a high-stick to the face. It was a bit of a freak play, but enough to get him down the tunnel for a little bit. He finished the game, but these things happen all the time and having depth pieces in rotate in is key.
Tarasenko is still a solid option to have, and it might be worth looking into based on his skills, and how the Rangers are filling out the rest of their roster.
He would be a better value for the roster than someone like Matt Rempe or Taylor Raddysh, and while it isn't the likeliest transaction to expect, Rangers fans would love a reunion.
Hypothetically speaking, a scenario that brought in Tarasenko for the third line and bumped Eeli Tolvanen to the fourth line over Raddysh might be worth considering. It would make the team that much deeper, and considering that the Rangers are looking to score more than they did last season, taking a chance on Tarasenko is the type of low-risk, high-reward opportunities you'd like to see as a fan.
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