As the 4 Nations Face-off is about to commence, the New York Rangers only have a few more games left before taking a week and change break. This pause will give the club a chance to go over what they have, what they need to make the final playoff push, and whether or not they can be winners next season as well.
Despite making several moves over the past two weeks, grabbing J.T. Miller from Vancouver and shipping off Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil to new organizations, the Rangers should put a halt to this. With the Trade Deadline around a month away, this franchise should shut the phones off and stay silent.
Here are three reasons why.
Gotta work with what you got
This is a Presidents’ Trophy winning team still after all. There are a good amount of new faces and players that have left to other teams, but the core remains the same. This is a solid hockey team, they have yet to figure it out but things are starting to turn around.
The Rangers are going to have to work with what they have. This team, after 53 games, has to figure themselves out. The window is closing for this group, even with the additions made so far. The trade deadline should come and go, without a peep coming from General Manager Chris Drury and company.
Not one player can help or hurt this team
If the Rangers do decide to test the waters and bring in someone at the Trade Deadline on March 7, not one player is going to make or break this team. There are some highly talented pending free agents that teams may be selling at the deadline, but none will contribute much to the Rangers playoff chances or performance in the playoffs.
Sure, this team has not been the same Presidents' Trophy-winning team from a year ago, but they still have that nucleus. That core group of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox, and Igor Shesterkin are still there. Some members of those five need to step it up; some need to stay consistent.
Eyes are still on the offseason
The Salary Cap, despite getting increased, is still clearly in the rear view mirror. No matter how far this team goes this season, there are still a ton of decisions to be made in the offseason. With this trade deadline, they cannot handcuff themselves by landing a big fish, when there are so many contracts expiring at the end of the year.
If they take on a new big contract, it could put their future in jeopardy. This team is on the cusp of a playoff appearance this season, being five points out from Detroit for the second wildcard spot. If they go all in at the deadline and don't make the playoffs, it will crush their chances of getting back there for years to come if they cannot afford the new guy.
These next few weeks are going to be very interesting, but the Rangers need to stay together with the group they have. Do not bite at the deadline.