Headlines

  • Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up
  • Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal
  • Devils, Luke Hughes At An Impasse Regarding Contract Length
  • Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Wild Could Reach $16MM Per Year On Kirill Kaprizov Extension
  • Matthew Caldwell, Shawn Thornton Leave Panthers For NBA
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers New Defense Might Have Weakened Rest Of Team

September 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

The New York Rangers spent much of their offseason fixing one of their biggest weaknesses in their defense. The team went out and signed free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6MM deal, then re-signed trade deadline rental Brendan Smith to a new four-year, $17.4MM deal. They traded away top center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and a first-round pick. Perhaps more importantly, they bought out Dan Girardi, who was struggling. With all the changes, the Rangers should have one of the best defensive corps in the league. With Shattenkirk paired with Ryan McDonagh, Smith paired with veteran Marc Staal and young Brady Skjei paired with either Nick Holden or DeAngelo, the Rangers should be in fantastic shape.

But at what cost? The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (subscription required) that the Rangers’ knee-jerk reaction to their second-round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators have crippled the team in other areas. He writes the goaltending situation is now worse due to moving Raanta to Arizona. Instead, New York signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one-year deal, but there is a huge difference between the two backups. Raanta was a stud backup who now will get his chance to be an NHL starting goalie. Pavelec has been inconsistent in his time with the Jets, but has struggled so bad in the last couple of years that Winnipeg demoted him to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Incidentally, Pavelec played 18 games for Manitoba and finished with a 2.78 GAA in that span — which wouldn’t be acceptable in the NHL.  Probably not the backup you would want when your starter Henrik Lundqvist, who is 35 years old, is coming off the worst season of his career. Lundqvist finished the year with a 2.74 GAA in 57 games and .910 save percentage. Those numbers suggest that his workload might need to be diminished in the future — probably not the best time to be trading your top backup.

The scribe also mentions that the team also has to wonder if they have enough offense to get through the season. The team traded away Stepan, who he admits isn’t that big of a loss, but considering that there is no true center who can take his place, that’s not a good sign. Yes, Mike Zibanejad will likely assume the top role, but he will likely be one of the worst top centers in the NHL. Their other three centers J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais are all acceptable, but none are outstanding centers. Luszczyszyn adds that what the Rangers really need is a big-name scorer, which they lack. The team instead relies on Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello, who are great players, but not two players you should have leading your offense.

All in all, the belief is the Rangers have traded one concern for many others. Will these offensive changes really change anything?

 

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

New York Rangers Anthony DeAngelo| Antti Raanta| Brady Skjei| Brendan Smith| Chris Kreider| Dan Girardi| David Desharnais| Henrik Lundqvist| J.T. Miller| Kevin Hayes| Kevin Shattenkirk| Marc Staal| Mats Zuccarello| Mika Zibanejad| Nick Holden| Ondrej Pavelec| Ryan McDonagh

The Best Fits For Matt Duchene
Main
Blackhawks Great Pierre Pilote Passes Away At 85
View Comments (1)

Comments

  1. padam

    8 years ago

    They said the goaltending was worse when Talbot was moved. As for the forwards, it’s just an opportunity for players to move their game up a notch with more playing time.

    I think the Rangers will be just fine, with a defense that can now move the puck up and play better on the PP.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up

    Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal

    Devils, Luke Hughes At An Impasse Regarding Contract Length

    Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors

    Wild Could Reach $16MM Per Year On Kirill Kaprizov Extension

    Matthew Caldwell, Shawn Thornton Leave Panthers For NBA

    NCAA Grants Eligibility To Two Former Pros

    Flames Seem Set To Trade Rasmus Andersson, Per Teammate

    Jets’ Adam Lowry Underwent Hip Surgery, Out 5-6 Months

    Bill Daly Talks Schedule Changes, CBA Talks And Effectiveness

    Recent

    Maple Leafs, Anthony Stolarz Holding Extension Talks

    What Will The Islanders Be This Season?

    Islanders Sign Daniil Prokhorov To Entry-Level Contract

    Extension Notes: Connor, McDavid, Kempe

    East Notes: Hutson, Milano, Spicer

    Metro Notes: Hart, Laperrière, Fehérváry

    Calgary Flames Hire Dave Lowry As Assistant Coach

    Ducks Place Rodwin Dionicio On Unconditional Waivers

    Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up

    Flames, Connor Zary Making Progress On Three-Year Deal

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version