Keep an eye on Cedrick Desjardins

Cedrick Desjardins

While we all know that the Rangers success lives and dies with Henrik Lundqvist’s health and performance (as it should), there has always been an undercurrent of concern from the Rangers fan base about a lack of overall goaltending depth in the system. With Martin Biron retiring and Cam Talbot graduating to the NHL, the problem has become more pronounced, especially with Talbot likely to depart after this season in pursuit of more playing time.

Slats & Co. addressed this issue to an extent by drafting Brandon Halverson and Igor Shestyorkin this past June. As exciting as those two prospects are, Halverson will continue to ply his trade in the CHL for the foreseeable future while Shestyorkin will be firmly planted in the KHL. This creates a serious gap in viable options in Hartford in the event of injury.

Enter Cedrick Desjardins. A very under-the-radar depth signing, the 28-year old Quebec native was brought in to replace David LeNeveu at the AHL level and to potentially lock down the starting job there, since Jason Missiaen, you know, isn’t any good. Also, Scott Stajcer is no longer with the organization (not that he was really developing, anyway), so there is very little in the way of competition for the crease in Connecticut.

Desjardins’ significance to the organization is two fold: 1) in the event of Talbot’s departure or potential injury, the Rangers could use a cheap, effective backup to take twenty starts a year from Hank. I’m not saying Desjardins could step in and do that for sure, but he is far more likely than Missiaen is at this point. 2) with a ton of high-ceiling kids likely to be relegated to AHL duty for at least some of this season, having a solid foundation in net can go a long way in developing a winning culture and getting the most out of their development at the AHL level.

The biggest issue that Desjardins faces in trying to carve out an NHL career is a stylistic one. He is a pretty pure butterfly goaltender, and as we have seen from the successes of Carey Price, Jonathan Quick and Tuukka Rask, the most effective style in today’s game is something more of a hybrid.

He has always been a late bloomer whenever he has played, and at 28, there is still some hope for him to become at least a competent backup. He was traded twice, straight up, for goaltenders who have experienced NHL success in Karri Ramo and Dustin Tokarski, so someone has seen something in him.

It’s entirely possible Desjardins’ time in New York is just a blip on the radar and the Rangers decide to bring in a Michal Nuevirth or Thomas Greiss type to back up Hank next season, but if all goes well, he could be in the conversation. His development into a capable backup could mean an extra 600k-1m available to address other offseason needs (*cough* center depth *cough*).

If Desjardins starts showing signs of grabbing a meaningful place in the organization, I will do a more in-depth write up on him, but at this point we should all be aware he exists. The success of Hartford’s season may depend on him.