The NY Rangers have a Grand Canyon sized hole on the left side of their blue line. It is a clear area of need for Jeff Gorton this summer. With Calgary supposedly looking to blow things up, there are some targets to look at. However the target isn’t Sean Monahan, it might be Noah Hanifin to address this LD need for the Rangers.
The 23-year-old defenseman is signed long-term, with four years left at $4.95 million. He’s a 20-30 point guy on the left side, mostly at even strength. In Calgary, Hanfin is almost entirely an offensive driver with pretty rough defensive metrics.
On the surface, Hanifin is someone who might not be the best fit to help address the Rangers needs. The last two seasons he’s had some pretty rough defensive metrics. With the Rangers in need of some more well-rounded blue liners, that might not work.
Better Numbers with Carolina
Prior to his trade to Calgary, he was seen as a more well-rounded defenseman. Carolina has been a strong metrics team for a while, so that may play into it. The other potential reason could be Travis Hamonic. Hanifin has spent the majority of his time in Calgary with Hamonic as his partner.
Hamonic was downright atrocious without Hanfin, who dragged him out of “bad” when they were together. That’s not to suggest a new partner could solve all his problems, but it could certainly help. Hanifin would be on the top pair with Jacob Trouba, who is better than Hamonic.
Hanifin comes with a risk. He could never return to his play with Carolina, thus committing to him for four more years may be a burden. However if a proper change in scenery and/or partner has a positive impact, he could be a steal.
Might Be A Steal
The cost for Hanifin is likely not as high as it was two years ago. The close to $5 million contract might be a deterrent in a flat cap world. But four years with salary retained that might have some value, and it might be something Calgary needs to do if they want to tear it down.
There’s a risk/reward associated with a trade like this. The cost might be close to what the Blues gave up for Justin Faulk. That return was Joel Edmundson and Dominik Bokk. Bokk was the prize as a top-of-the-system prospect for St. Louis at the time and is a former first round pick.
If this is the cost, then we might be looking at Brendan Smith (salary retained) and a prospect below the Kravtsov/Miller level. Alex Georgiev? Yegor Rykov? Libor Hajek? Maybe Lias Andersson and a different prospect? It’s tough to gauge. But if the Rangers want to get Hanifin with a retained salary, they will need to fork up more.
Roster Fit
Hanifin, if acquired, would like be the top LD for the short term. Ryan Lindgren would slot in behind him as the 2LD. There’s certainly an immediate fit, and with only K’Andre Miller in the fold, it gives the Rangers some depth down the left side.
Depending on salary retention, he might also be one of the cheaper options against the cap. That gives the Rangers more flexibility to keep some RFAs.
While not the best potential option for the Rangers, Noah Hanifin is certainly worth looking at. He might be the most cost effective option that actually addresses roster issues. Is he worth the risk?
Charts from Evolving-Wild and Hockeyviz.
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