What a time it is to be Glen Sather these days. One of his favorite times of the year is quickly approaching, but Sather’s carefully crafted trade deadline plan has been continuously influenced by new developments over the last few weeks.
First Henrik Lundqvist went down with a scary vascular injury, ceding his throne to backup Cam Talbot. The Prince had played well in spot duty over the last two seasons, but it was still anyone’s guess how he would respond to immediate full-time duty. Though it’s been rocky at times, Talbot has seized the job with a 5-1-1 record since taking over as the starter.
The team’s chief perceived position of need was at third-line center, but Kevin Hayes has been white-hot of late and it almost seems like it would be a shame to give away his gig in the middle to a mercenary when Hayes himself could continue raising his level.
Not that there’s really an appealing option out there anymore – Arizona announced that potential trade deadline target Martin Hanzal will miss the rest of the year, and Toronto traded Mike Santorelli to Nashville.
There are still some interesting depth wingers, as well as defensemen Andrej Sekera and Jeff Petry, but the number of available rental players that would actually help the Blueshirts has dwindled quickly.
It raises the question: is Sather’s best course of action, no action?
Right now, the seller’s market is quickly turning into a seller’s feast. Meanwhile, several Rangers are playing their best hockey of the season: Hayes, Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin among them. The team is streaking and leads the Eastern Conference in goal differential.
At this point, Sather might be wise to play his current hand or make a very minor addition, but who knows what else will happen before March 2.
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