The New York Rangers made a ton of moves on July 1st, and it went way differently than you might have expected if you’ve followed New York in the Chris Drury era. That’s right, spoiler alert, the Rangers had….a fantastic day, and did so while many teams overspent on free agents with bad contracts. Grading the Rangers roster moves yesterday is pretty straight forward honestly, with only one real puzzling move and several solid signings and trades.
Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth
The Rangers finally ended the Vincent Trocheck trade saga by moving him for a much different package than expected. New York got back a puck-moving defenseman in Sean Durzi, a solid prospect in Cole Beaudoin, and a third round draft pick.
I’m not entirely sure what I expected a Trocheck package to look like, but I like the package. Durzi will immediately help with New York’s difficulties getting any kind of offense from their defense, Beaudoin should be a fine NHL player, and a pick is a pick. It isn’t any kind of gamebreaking package, but it’s practical and fills some needs.
Trocheck was an awesome Ranger, but his contract was so good that the Rangers essentially needed to use the asset. If New York is set on retooling rather than rebuilding, getting a guy like Durzi is more valuable than another pick.
Grade: B+
Rangers trade Will Borgen to the Boston Bruins
New York got back 2nd and 3rd round draft picks for a below average defenseman who is on a bad contract with multiple years left on it. Honestly, getting a 7th round pick for Borgen would have been a win. Great deal.
Grade: A+
Rangers trade a 4th round pick and Kalle Vaisanen for Joonas Korpisalo
By far the worst deal of the day, acquiring Korpisalo for anything was already silly enough, but giving up a fourth for him is crazy. Korpisalo is a bad backup goalie who requires waivers. At best, the Rangers rid the contract on waivers. At worst, they’re wasting money on an AHL player making $3M.
That’s all assuming Korpisalo doesn’t take Dylan Garand’s backup job, which if he does, New York will lose Garand to waivers.
For some reason the Rangers have steadfastly refused to give Garand any kind of a run in the NHL. Here’s just another example of it. Only this time, the Rangers brought in a terrible contract and shipped out a non-zero asset.
Grade: D-
Rangers sign Oliver Bjorkstrand
For $4.5 million on a one-year deal, I truly have no issues with the Oliver Bjorkstrand contract. If it works out, Bjorkstrand is a solid middle-six forward who is either a great trade piece, or a great roster piece. If it doesn’t Bjorkstrand chills on the third line and is an occasional healthy scratch before leaving in the offseason. Low ceiling, low floor. Totally fine.
Grade: B
Rangers trade first round pick for Marcus Pettersson
Love this deal for Marcus Pettersson. The first round pick is top-10 protected, so as long as the Rangers don’t completely collapse, they’ll trade a non-elite pick for a legit top four defenseman. Pettersson will be a great add and pairing him with Durzi means Chris Drury completely overhauled the second defensive pairing in one day. Great work.
Losing a first round pick hurts, but again, it isn’t a top 10 pick. The cost of a top-four defenseman is absolutely a first round pick.
Grade: B+
Rangers sign Joe Veleno
I have no opinion on signing Joe Veleno other than that I’d rather the Rangers bring in a young fourth-liner than a 35 year old. It’s cool.
Grade: B
Grading the Rangers moves yesterday: A-
Chris Drury did an excellent job today retooling on the fly. This isn’t a Stanley Cup contender, but it’s an improved team that also has an improved prospect pool. When you’re retooling, that’s exactly the goal. Outside of the Korpisalo move, there wasn’t a single move I didn’t like. Hard not to call this a success for the Rangers.
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