Update: Rangers made a move this afternoon that while not overly surprising, the return that they received is. New York traded Derek Dorsett to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick, 85th overall in tonight's draft. As noted below, the Rangers only had four picks in this years draft, which is believed to be not a deep one. So it begs the question as to why they bothered acquiring a third rounder from a not so deep draft as opposed to trying to get one next year, when the draft is believed to be raft with talent. Training Dorsett frees up some money, as he was scheduled to earn $1.5 million this upcoming season. However, what it does do is weekends you're potentially already stripped apart fourth line, which was a huge key for New York success this year. With Dominic Moore an unrestricted free agent, Brian Boyle likely on his way out of town and Dan Carcillo not expected to return, the Rangers may end up with nobody left from a line that was a huge component of their playoff success this season
The Rangers, as has seemingly become their pattern and will be the same next year, do not have a first round pick. This year's pick, along with next season's, went to Tampa with Ryan Callahan for Martin St. Louis. In addition, the Rangers only have four selections, so the pressure with be on Gord Clark and his team to once again spin straw into gold, like many of us believe they did with their three picks in the third round last year.
In addition to the first round pick, New York dealt their sixth (Brandon Mashinter) and seventh (Dan Carcillo), leaving them with just four picks. Those picks are the 59th (second round), 89th (third), 119th (fourth) and 122nd (fifth, acquired from Florida for Casey Wellman as NY dealt their pick in Ryane Clowe trade) selections in what is believed to be a weak draft. Like last season, Clark has to focus on players with talent who have slipped for one reason or another, dropping that individual down substantively below when many thought or projected they would be taken. In addition, given the lack of depth, picking where NY is may not be that big of a detriment since there are substantial questions about a good portion of those entering the draft, so picking 59th may not differ much from 29th. Last, given the Rangers current style of play under AV compared to Torts, skating ability plus the capacity to quickly go from D to O is critical.
The Rangers have a fairly good young core, with several key members of the team 27 and under. In the minors, the pipeline is of useful, likely not elite or top-end talent, but a grouping that can step in and contribute. It's that lack of elite talent that resulted in the Hockey News slotting the Rangers last in the league in their Future Watch publication. As Steve Zipay pointed out, some of those names are: forwards J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast, Swedish center Oscar Lindberg and defenseman Conor Allen. In addition, New York also has Brady Skjei, their first round pick last year, who just finished his sophomore season playing for Minnesota and who the team would like to turn pro, along with Ryan Graves, a big and young stay at-home defenseman. Zipay adds that the Rangers went the college free agent and other route to bolster their depth and compensate for the lack of picks.
New York signed three college free agents: 1) Defenseman Mat Bodie, 24, the captain of the NCAA champion Union Dutchmen, who had eight goals and 39 points in 40 games, the most points of any college defenseman. 2) Ryan Haggerty, 21, the Stamford, Connecticut, native who had 28 goals and 43 points as a junior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He skated with the taxi squad during the playoffs. 3) Chris McCarthy, 22, a forward who had 42 points in 38 games for the University of Vermont. In addition, they agreed to terms with Petr Zamorsky, 21, a Czech defenseman, and Calle Andersson, a Swedish defenseman selected in the fourth round in 2012. Bodie, depending on what happens with Anton Stralman and in free agency, could have a shot at breaking camp with the Rangers while the others are likely to play for Hartford in the AHL.
Zipay suggests that at 59, the Rangers could go for Hunter Smith, a right wing who played for Oshawa (OHL); Justin Kirkland, a left wing at Kelowna (OHL), and Connor Chatham, a right wing for Plymouth (OHL). McKeen's hockey preview has Smith at 76, Kirkland at 54 and Chatham at 102. New York, like they did with Anthony Duclair, Adam Tambellini and Pavel Buchnevich and as mentioned above, need talent that slipped or those whose talent is unrefined yet the substantial upside exists. In those cases, they likely will pick someone they project to develop into or has the skills to possibly be a top-end talent, even though his current rating may be low. They could target a center or power forward and maybe another goalie, though MacKenzie Skapski, who they got in the sixth round last year, may prove to be a solid pick. Some other names mentioned on Bleacher Report and the Hockey Writers as possible candidates for selection are Andreas Englund, D, Djurgardens (provide further depth for the blue line, 44th by McKeens), Beau Starrett (potential over current ability, 96th by McKeens) and Mike Amadio, C, North Bay Battalion (big pivotman who projects to be a third line center, 95th by McKeens).
Ignoring projected first rounders, who if they slip would be clear targets, someone like Joshua Ho-Sang, projected early second who could slide, would be someone to target. Same for Ryan Donato, if the Rangers was a center, or Nikolay Goldobin, who has upside and major offensive ability. If looking for a possible top-six or -nine forward who could be an agitator as well as maybe chip in 20 goals, Brendan Lemeiux, Claude's son, also would be a nice fit.
I will supplement this blog with any additional info on possible draft picks as well as news on the Rangers RFAs/UFAs, which to date has not been trending in a positive direction. Included in that list is Anton Stralman and Benoit Pouliot, the possibility of each returning is dropping daily. I have spoken about continuity moving forward following the substantive changes lately, but it looks like that will not be the case again. The news on Pouliot as to the reported lack of negotiations is very disconcerting, since this is an area we all believe that GM Glen Sather needs to be better in and has been a problem in years past.