Fallout of the Lias Andersson/Jesse Puljujarvi non-trade

Yesterday afternoon, Elliotte Friedman was talking Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi, and how he was almost traded to the Rangers for Lias Andersson.

Based on the wording, it sounds like Ken Holland backed out, which led to the Rangers shipping Andersson to the Kings for a 2nd round pick. That pick wound up being Will Cuylle. From prior rumors, the Oilers had wanted more than just a 1:1 swap, so if Jeff Gorton at the time never budged, then this makes sense.

The Andersson trade was at the Alexis Lafreniere draft, which means the Rangers still would have the glut of wingers, except they would have Puljujarvi added to the mix. There is some interesting fallout here.

Improved depth means playoffs?

If we assume Puljujarvi plays, does he get the 2RW spot with Artemiy Panarin and Ryan Strome? Let’s assume for a second that he does. He’s certainly more skilled than Colin Blackwell. Does Puljujarvi match or exceed Blackwell’s production? This does, at the very least, push Blackwell down to the fourth line, which was a major problem for the Rangers last year.

Brett Howden would still be getting fourth line minutes, but does Howden-Rooney-Blackwell have a better output than whatever concoction David Quinn threw out there? There is certainly a strong case for the Rangers being a few points better in the standings with Puljujarvi in the lineup.

The Rangers finished 11 points out of the playoffs, so this likely doesn’t mean a playoff position for the Rangers. But that’s in a vacuum. The Rangers were in it until the end when they fell off a cliff and the front office got fired. Does a few timely wins against the Bruins change things?

Does the 2021 offseason change?

The outrage this offseason was trading Pavel Buchnevich. Not so much trading him, but the lack of a significant return. The 1RW spot is still open, given that Lafreniere is not going to play his off-wing just yet. Puljujarvi-Kakko-Kravtsov on the right side with Lafreniere-Panarin-Kreider on the left is elite wing depth.

Now comes the fun question: Do the Rangers trade for and then sign Barclay Goodrow if they don’t have any open wing spots? The safe answer here is yes, they do. Injuries usually figure themselves out in a season, and there would be nothing inherently wrong with a fourth line of Blais-Rooney-Goodrow with Reaves as the depth forward.

What this does mean, most likely, is that Dryden Hunt isn’t a Ranger. Or the Rangers find a landing spot for Julien Gauthier.

One last fun question: Does this alter any trade situation for Jack Eichel, where the Rangers throw in an extra piece and manage the injury risk on their own? Again, likely not. But hey, it’s a fun question to ponder.