The New York Rangers have a difficult needle to thread ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 8. The Rangers, who are now top in the Metropolitan Division and have won 10 of their last 11 games, must decide how and where to enhance their roster while maintaining team cohesion.
General manager Chris Drury is in a difficult situation. On the one hand, the Rangers are doing really well. On the other hand, Drury must find a way to improve the Rangers’ Stanley Cup chances without screwing things up.
As they say, that’s why Drury gets paid so much.
This is the period when a general manager cannot be persuaded by emotion. Drury must be cold-blooded in this situation and implement the best strategy to help the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup in 30 years.
Rangers decide best approach before trade deadline, seeking Stanley Cup run this spring.
There appear to be three areas that the Rangers could address. A top-line right wing to join Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. A third-line center to effectively replace Filip Chytil, who is out for the season. In addition, a third-pair defenseman, or possibly a depth veteran, might step in if an injury occurs.
That is a large wish list. Especially when you consider the recent 10-game winning run and New York’s battle for the Presidents’ Trophy as the best regular-season club in the league.
The Rangers’ synergy cannot be overlooked either. It’s seen in their ability to constantly overcome deficits and win games. It’s also been strengthened by how successfully bottom-six forwards Jonny Broddzinski, Matt Rempe, and Adam Edstrom have integrated into the lineup.
However, Drury walks a thin line. Do you break up, say, the third line, which has demonstrated tremendous on-ice chemistry at both ends of the rink, by bringing in a seasoned 3C? That would move Brodzinski to the fourth line, replacing Rempe or Edstrom. If you trade for a top-line right wing, Jimmy Vesey is relegated to a fourth-line role, while someone else is demoted from a regular role – providing no one is traded off the current active roster.
Bringing in Frank Vatrano to play right wing and Adam Henrique or Yanni Gourde to play center improves this team significantly on paper. But at what cost, considering chemistry?
The 1994 Rangers confronted this quandary ahead of the season’s trade deadline. The Rangers, who are now leading in the League, made five transactions prior to the deadline. It was a startling approach, but it worked. Stephane Matteau, Brian Noonan, Glenn Anderson, and Craig MacTavish all played significant roles after the deadline, and the Rangers won their lone Stanley Cup in 84 years in 1994.
Much has been made of the fact that each of those players brought grit and experience to the lineup, and that they were better suited to postseason hockey than Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte, and Todd Marchant, who were dealt.
Another important factor was that those players integrated easily into their new team. Matteau and Noonan had previously played under coach Mike Keenan. MacTavish and Anderson were Stanley Cup champions and former Edmonton Oilers teammates alongside Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, Esa Tikkanen, and Jeff Beukeboom.
