The Rangers head to Florida to play the southern version of their squad. While that may be an exaggeration, it’s not far from the truth. Tampa Bay will suit up four ex-Rangers while a fifth is on the verge of returning from a hand injury.
Anton Stralman, Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi weee already in Tampa, each joining the Lightning over the past three seasons. At the deadline, New York dealt J. T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay. Miller has seamlessly fit in while McDonagh is practicing in a non-contact jersey as he inches his way back from a broken hand.
Miller is benefitting from playing with elite talent and on what is now the best team in the Eastern Conference. He has score in each of his past two games and tallied five points in his four games with the Lightning. Coach Jon Cooper is fairly effective in his praise for one of the sqaud’s newest acquisitions.
“I think J.T. has been everything we needed up front,… Cooper told reporters. “He gives you a heavy body there, things we’ve probably lacked. He can keep up in the play, he can skate, he’s got a heavy shot. A lot of things that you know you’re going to need if you’re playing in April, May and June, he brings them to the table. We have to get him up to speed on our system, and how we play and we do things. He was a really good add for us.…
The cynic amongst us would highlight the one goal in 40 playoff games as a cautionary tale to counting on Miller come spring time. But, the team around Miller should provide the winger ample opportunities to change that rhetoric. I know Miller was a big topic of debate on the blog yesterday. My views of him are well known. In addition, the Miller-Vladislav Namestnikov component of the deal may not have been the primary component, as McDonagh was clearly the main target for the Lightning, but it’s not as if either was just a throw-in.
Tampa wanted Miller for the reasons spelled out by Cooper in his remarks. Nam gives New York a more defensive minded center/winger that can also score and is better in terms of zone breakouts. Miller is a more physical player that brings a heavy game, which Tampa lacked. The hope is that it works out well for New York, and at a minimum, is a wash, with each player filling the type of role desired by each squad. But I will say that the Rangers will moss what Miller brought and maybe Brett Howden can be that type of player when he arrives.
Brett Cyrgalis added a few points that we have repeatedly discussed. In fact, for the remaining month of the season and into plus through the off-season, these will continue to be hashed and rehashed. These topics dominate the future landscape and make up of the team, not just for now or the short-term, but the longer term outlook.
Yet for those still wearing the Broadway Blueshirt, just because the trade deadline has passed does not mean that the rebuild is over. Winger Mats Zuccarello was certainly part of trade discussions, and likely will remain so in the lead-up to the draft on June 22. At 30 years old, Zuccarello has one more year left on his deal with a salary-cap hit of $4.5 million. He has 10 goals and 43 points in 66 games, which puts him on pace for the fewest goals and points in his past four seasons with the RangersGeneral manager Jeff Gorton also has a handful of decisions to make with his restricted free agents, a group that all have arbitration rights including Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Spooner, John Gilmour, Brady Skjei and Namestnikov. He also has to decide if Pavel Buchnevich is worthy of top-six minutes, and if Tony DeAngelo, Neal Pionk and John Gilmour can be consistent contributors on the back end with the influx of defensive prospects he added in trades. (In addition, decisions will need to be made on what to do with Marc Staal and Brendan Smith, including a possible buyout or attempted trade)
And before all that, Gorton likely has to decide if Alain Vigneault is going to remain the man coaching this team as it transitions from a veteran-led contender to a youth-driven restart.
As the season wears on, the games on ice aren’t the true or full focus. Results still matter because of the impact to the draft pick plus the efforts and production of each player will help drive the aforementioned decision making process. But those determinations remaining to be made are the broader landscape that will create the picture not just next year but down the road. Gorton getting these decisions correct will shape our view of him as a GM for now and in the future.
After losing to Winnipeg 3-0 on Tuesday, Tampa is up tonight with Florida, Carolina and Pittsburgh are the next three on the docket. Following these four games, contests versus St. Louis, Columbus and Pittsburgh follow, after which it's Washington (home-and-road), Tampa (last home game) and Carolina (road) to close out March. In April, New York faces the Devils, Islanders and Flyers, all on the road.