The birthday boy is once again at the top of his game, but for how much longer?

The birthday boy is once again at the top of his game, but for how much longer?

  • It took Alain Vigneault less than a game to realize playing Eric Staal at center wasn’t going to work. Sure, the idea of having Staal, Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan down the middle is tantalizing, but it just isn’t feasible with the current makeup of the team. Kevin Hayes has earned that third-line role with recent improved play and has formed an effective threesome with Oscar Lindberg and Viktor Stalberg. Hayes also has been underwhelming on the wing, where the Rangers have a major hole with Rick Nash out. Perhaps things will be different when Nash returns, but until then Staal’s greatest value is on the wing, even if he needs to tag in frequently to win faceoffs.
  • Speaking of Nash, when he returns the Rangers should finally achieve the depth level that Dave preached all year – Stalberg/Dominic Moore/Jesper Fast, or the equivalent, as the fourth line. Granted, it’s possible that Vigneault will still choose to dress Tanner Glass over a guy like Lindberg, but if not, the forwards should be pretty strong one through 12. This looks pretty good to me:
    Nash/Brassard/Zuccarello
    Staal/Stepan/Miller
    Kreider/Hayes/Lindberg
    Stalberg/Moore/Fast

  • That’s a Cup-worthy group up front – the problem remains on the blueline, which we’ve talked about a few times here before.

  • So where do the Blueshirts stack up with the league’s best? The Capitals are still the clear team to beat in the Eastern Conference, but the Rangers should feel pretty good about their chances against anyone else. I’d still rate the Blackhawks, Ducks and Kings well above New York, but the Rangers are back in the conversation with their recent hot streak and the big trade.
  • As always, there’s tremendous concern about mortgaging the future. The cupboard is a little bare, but it’s safe to say if this year doesn’t yield the big prize, major changes will follow. Recouping draft picks and prospects wouldn’t be too difficult given the number of players the Rangers have with real value.
  • I think Rick Carpiniello put it best – would you rather the Rangers go down swinging, or looking, as many of our local Mets fans will remember all too well from the 2006 NLCS. For the Blueshirts, the count’s full, the bases are loaded, and maybe the Caps or one of those other contenders represent Mariano Rivera on the mound in the ninth – but when you’re at the plate in that situation, you want to take your best cut.

  • Especially when your goalie – one of the all-time greats and a man that has been an absolute savior to the franchise – is now 34 years old and still at the peak of his powers. For how much longer is hard to say, but we got a taste in December of what it might look like when he’s gone or no longer among the best in the world. And when that day really comes, then New York must stop shipping out futures and recognize that it’s time to pull back.
  • But until then, this is the reality. And the price they paid for Staal really wasn’t bad. Aleksi Saarela looks like he could be a decent player, but he’s no Anthony Duclair and he probably wasn’t among the team’s top five prospects. The two second-round picks aren’t nothing, but they also aren’t first-rounders and could be regained.
  • I still can’t fathom how several of the real hockey insiders said the Rangers were in on Brandon Pirri, the asking price was a second-, or combination of third- and fourth-round picks, and somehow Pirri ended up going to the Ducks for a sixth-rounder. I get that the Panthers would have wanted more from New York since the teams share a conference, but I still think beating Anaheim’s offer with a fifth or even fourth rounder should have been a no-brainer. After the deadline TSN’s Darren Dreger said the idea the Panthers could have gotten a second was comical amongst GMs, but giving up a mid-round pick for a cost-controlled, 24-year-old 20-goal scorer seems like a slam dunk to me.
  • I’m still choosing to maintain optimism that the Rangers will find a way to re-sign Keith Yandle this summer. Yandle has expressed his love for New York again and again, and yeah, what else is he going to say, but Yandle seems pretty genuine. Maybe I’m really gullible, but the idea that Yandle was ready to walk due to reduced icetime and power play opportunities doesn’t seem to hold too much water. We’ve seen very recent proof that horrible contracts can still be traded and it can be done with Dan Girardi and Marc Staal. I think that when push comes to shove, Jeff Gorton will make the right call.
  • The Staal trade is reminiscent of the Martin St. Louis trade three years ago in so many ways. Another aging Southeast Division captain that is being counted upon to deliver scoring punch and veteran drive in the Quest for the Cup. At least this time around the Rangers didn’t have to send their own captain the other way.

Where are you at on the Staal trade now that the dust has settled?

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