To many, the past week has been somewhat underwhelming for the New York Rangers, as they made just four trades to solidify the roster. But it’s not quantity and it’s not about landing stars. It’s about roster balance, depth, and the right players. It may not seem like it, but the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves may have been everything the Rangers needed to bolster their chances at a deep run.
After all, few were thrilled about Peter Laviolette’s hiring this offseason. See how that’s turned out? Sometimes, it’s the low key moves that bring the biggest value. But as per usual, I have thoughts.
1. The first move the Rangers made was the Alex Wennberg trade. Perhaps the most important of the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves, I’m going to be brief since this was covered the other day. Wennberg is a solid three zone player who gets in on the forecheck and produce offense. He’s a pass first guy, which may help unlock Kaapo Kakko’s offense.
The Filip Chytil injury really hurt the Rangers this year. Wennberg isn’t Chytil, but he plays a somewhat similar style. If Kakko worked with Chytil, what’s to say he won’t work with Wennberg?
2. The second move was acquiring defenseman Chad Ruhwedel. This trade was likely in the works before the Jacob Trouba injury, and will certainly help the Rangers navigate the next two weeks with the pretty brutal schedule they have coming up. The Ruhwedel pickup is very solid and great value. On any other team he’d be in the lineup regularly, he’s just that good defensively.
3. What will be interesting is how the Rangers manage Ruhwedel, Jones, and the Trouba injury while trying to win games and determine what their secondary and tertiary defense options are for the playoffs. Will they also rest Ryan Lindgren? He’s been pretty brutal this year and it’s assumed he’s fighting some kind of injury.
Jones is a bit of a wild card, but Ruhwedel is steady on defense and would certainly be a solid stand in for Lindgren should the need arise. Of the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves, this is likely to be an unheralded move that pays big dividends. Assuming he gets regular time, of course.
4. The “big” trade was for Jack Roslovic, coming in right as the trade deadline expired. With the Rangers seemingly missing out on every big name winger, including Jake Guentzel, the tension on social media was borderline unbearable. Even now, folks are calling for Chris Drury’s head because he didn’t get a big name to fill a 1RW spot.
But do we forget how poorly going for stars worked last year? Or how the moves like this can pay big dividends, like Frank Vatrano did in 2022?
The Rangers didn’t need stars. They have stars. They needed the right complementary players to bring balance to the lineup.
5. Seriously though, how often do the teams making huge splashes make big runs? The Rangers tried last year and fizzled out in embarrassing fashion. Carolina made a bunch of big moves, specifically landing Guentzel, and got better. Are they better than the Rangers? We won’t know until they face each other in the playoffs, if they do.
Listen, the Rangers are going to face tough competition in the playoffs. It’s the playoffs, after all. It won’t be a cake walk.
6. As for Roslovic the player, he has the potential to be 2024’s Vatrano. What made Vatrano so valuable was the low cost, almost the exact same cost as Roslovic. What Roslovic brings is a history –before this season– of driving offense, good board work and forechecking, and being a relative nuisance. He’s not exactly stellar defensively, but assuming he’s on the top line, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider can more than cover for him.
7. Roslovic won’t be a center for the Rangers, but he can fill in as one. That’s perhaps an underrated aspect of acquiring Roslovic. He can replace Barclay Goodrow as the emergency center in the top-nine. We’ve been adamant that Goodrow isn’t a center, let alone a scoring line player. Roslovic (and Wennberg) put pretty significant distance between Goodrow and an emergency 3C role. Hopefully, of course.
Of the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves, Roslovic has the rare opportunity to be both the best value and best overall acquisition for the Rangers.
8. In the end though, the big question is whether the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves did enough to solidify the Blueshirts as Cup contenders. It won’t be easy, but remember they only need to play, at most, 3 of Florida, Carolina, Boston, Edmonton, Dallas, Vegas, and Vancouver. But they can’t fall asleep on their “lesser” opponents. These will all be playoff teams for a reason.
9. Last thought: There was much made about the Rangers 2024 trade deadline moves they didn’t make. Let’s be clear that these names were likely never truly available: Jordan Eberle, Pavel Buchnevich, Frank Vatrano, and Vladimir Tarasenko. It’s also abundantly clear that Jake Guentzel was never going to be a Rangers, not based on Vince Mercogliano’s report last night on the cost.
If the Rangers gave up Gabe Perreault or two of Will Cuylle, Kaapo Kakko, and Brennan Othmann, we’d be calling for Drury’s head. Guentzel was just not available to the Rangers.
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