February 29, 2016
Peter Solari
It's the kind of move that has made New York Rangers fans cringe in recent years. A trade deadline deal that saw general manager Glen Sather trading away young stars or prospects and future draft picks for the "missing piece" to a puzzle also known as the Stanley Cup championship.
Think about Ryan Callahan and two first round picks for Martin St. Louis in 2014, or Anthony Duclair and two draft picks for Keith Yandle just last.
On Sunday, Sather's successor, first year GM Jeff Gorton, let Rangerstown know that not much will change on his watch. Gorton traded Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela and two second round draft picks (one in 2016 and one in 2017) for longtime Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal. Staal leaves one younger brother, Jordan, behind in Carolina, to join another younger brother, Marc, in New York.
These types of moves haven't worked out for the Rangers in recent years. St. Louis wasn't the elite player he had once been by the time he arrived in New York, and only spent one full season with the Blueshirts before retiring after last season. Duclair, on the other hand, is just beginning what looks to be a pretty bright future in Arizona. In fact, Duclair and fellow youngster Max Domi, son of another former Ranger, Tie Domi, have formed quite a formidable duo for the Coyotes. Lucky for the Rangers, they don't have to worry about anything like that with this latest transactions as there are several noticeable differences.
In the past four seasons, the Rangers have been to three Eastern Conference finals' (2012, 2014, 2015) and one Stanley Cup Final (2014). However, they likely won't hold the same status as "contenders" in 2016. Believe it or not, in those three seasons (2012, 2014, 2015) the Rangers reached their highest plateau, in what was statistically their worst season. in 2012 the team finished with an Eastern Conference best 109 points, just two points behind Vancouver, who won the Presidents Trophy. Last year, in 2015, they won the Presidents Trophy as the league's best team with 113 points. In 2014, the team fell in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings with just 96 points.
Currently, the Rangers are tied with Florida for the second-most points in the Eastern Conference, at 78. With 20 games (and 40 possible points) left on their schedule, it's certainly possible for the Rangers to reach the 100-point mark. However, they've been terribly inconsistent and currently sit a whopping 16 points behind league/conference/division leader Washington, who have taken the NHL by storm this year. The Caps are currently sitting on 94 points, 11 more than the league's next closest team. Even if New York reaches the century mark in points, they will not enter the playoffs as favorites and will definitely have their hands full if they, once again, face off with the Capitals in the postseason. The Rangers and Capitals have met in the playoffs in five of the last seven seasons. Washington knocked out the Rangers in 2009 and 2011, while New York returned those favors in 2012, 2013, and 2015. One could argue that New York needed to make this type of move this year, more so than any other year. And it doesn't hurt that they weren't taken for a ride at the trade deadline, for a change.
The real beauty of the Staal trade, from the Rangers' standpoint anyway, is that New York finally may have gotten the better end of a deal. Eric Staal is a declining player, but he isn't finished by any means. Staal has spent his entire career, up until now, in Carolina and was the face of that franchise for a long time. Since his rookie season in 2004, he's scored 30 goals five times and 40 goals twice. He also helped the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2006. This season, he's only tallied 10 goals and 23 assists, but he's only 31 years old and his tank isn't empty. Perhaps a change of scenery is all he needs. Don't be surprised if he becomes an important piece of the Rangers' puzzle.
More importantly, the Rangers didn't give up a top prospect or any first round draft picks for Staal. Second round picks can definitely be valuable, but the team could afford to lose them for a player of Staal's stature. And losing Saarela isn't the same as giving up Duclair. Duclair the Rangers' most highly touted prospect to come along in a while. Saarela, on the other hand, may never have even worn a Rangers' sweater had the team kept him, so the risk is minimal. Even more so when you consider that the Hurricanes will be picking up half of Staal's remaining contract, which expires at season's end.
This trade will go down as a win-win for all parties involved. Carolina was able to unload a declining veteran who likely would've left Carolina at the end of the season, anyway. Instead, the Hurricanes got two draft picks and a potential prospect rather than letting Staal walk for nothing. Likewise, the Rangers got a "professional" hockey player in every sense of the word, for half the price. Staal should provide a boost for New York in their playoff push, but even if he doesn't, he'll still be a free agent after the season and the team could always let him walk, knowing that they didn't give up and arm and a leg to obtain him.
Next for the Rangers is to get healthy and back to full strength. The team has been hit with the injury bug recently and it's affecting some of their top players, specifically captain and defenseman Ryan McDonagh, as well as star forward Rick Nash. Nash has been sidelined since January 22 with a bone bruise in his leg, but coach Alain Vigneault said he will not be put on injured reserve Friday, meaning the team expects him to return before the playoffs start. McDonagh recently returned to the lineup after dealing with concussion symptoms for the past several weeks.
The Rangers are continuing to get healthy at the right time, and that's not the only good news surrounding the team. For the first time in recent memory, the Rangers get a seal of approval for their trade deadline moves. Now, if only they could catch that elusive Stanley Cup...
