Rangers offseason retool underway
Excitement turned into frustration quickly this spring for the New York Rangers. After an outstanding 52 win-performance in the regular season that saw them finish 1st in the Eastern Conference, the team completely folded in the first round of the playoffs when they faced the Montreal Canadiens. Not only did they squander a two goal lead in game 1 en route to a 5-4 loss, they also suffered a painful OT loss in game 5, with the series tied 2-2, after giving up the tying goal with five seconds left in regulation. The Rangers never recovered and lost the series in 6, prompting GM devo22 to engage in a shouting match with Larry Brooks during a press conference after the game.
Many wondered about the fallout from the Rangers' epic collapse. Would they simply try to paper over some cracks, or would they choose to make whole changes? The activity of the last couple of days would indicate the latter, as the Rangers have now made their first trades of the offseason.
To WSH: F Brandon Sutter
To NYR: F Ivan Chekhovich, 2022 4th round pick
To NYI: F Yanni Gourde, F Jack Drury
To NYR: D Damon Severson, D Thimo Nickl
To TB: D Carson Soucy, F Linus Karlsson, 2023 3rd round pick
To NYR: F Jakub Voracek, F Evgeny Svechnikov
The latter two deals are very much connected in my view, bringing in Voracek and Severson as replacements for Gourde and Soucy. I am a big fan of Gourde and I think giving up Drury could be seen as a big mistake in a year or two, but adding Severson made sense to me, especially when shipping out Soucy for Voracek. Hoping Svechnikov can figure it out in Detroit, and I'm also very happy to add a promising Austrian prospect in Thimo Nickl.
Thanks to BagoPucks, Scorp and agulati for the respective deals! More to come soon, hopefully.
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