The New York Rangers made plenty of headlines the last week, selecting Alberts Smits over Chase Reid, and making several trades for established players, mostly in their twenties. These are moves that show it plain and clear that the Rangers want to win soon. I’ve seen plenty of analysis on these moves, with most loving what the Rangers did. Still, I feel that these analyses aren’t calling out that the Rangers want to win soon, and it’s driving a good portion of their plan this offseason.
It’s clear the Rangers want to win soon
Something funny happens when an executive has a rough year or two at the helm. The executive knows their job is in danger, so they make moves to appease ownership now, rather than looking for the long-term solutions. Chris Drury is in that exact situation right now, and his moves show the Rangers want to win soon, hopefully keeping his job in the process.
That’s not to say the Rangers didn’t make the right moves in acquiring Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, and Sean Durzi while also drafting Smits. All are excellent additions to the Rangers, and I have no problem with either move. But adding players who are best fit to win in the near future is a dead giveaway that the Rangers aren’t looking for this retool to take any more time.
But there are still roster holes
What this also means is that the Rangers are in a strange spot with some of their roster players. The Vincent Trocheck trade finally happened. Now that the Rangers want to win soon, how do you reconcile that goal with trading a top-six center? Will they need to flip more assets like Braden Schneider to help address this issue? The Trocheck trade brought in Durzi, a critical piece in rebuilding the blue line, but there are still clear holes on the team.
Speaking of Schneider, he hasn’t been great for the Rangers. Does the rest of the league know this? Since the Rangers want to win soon, will Schneider bring back pieces that address those roster holes?
The Rangers are in that odd no-mans-land where, though improved, they know they aren’t good enough as currently constructed. But they also don’t want to have the patience to reconstruct in the most optimal way. Now that Drury’s plan has been figured out, other teams can also look to take advantage of that.
Look for Chris Drury to continue adding this offseason, though hopefully he continues at least adding young talent that can also help in the future. New York has plenty of holes left to fill, and this week was just the start of attempting to make meaningful changes that result in a much different season than the last. Regardless, any rumblings of a true retool or rebuild are silly. The Rangers want to win soon.
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