With blueliner Adam Fox landing on LTIR last month due to an upper-body injury late last month, the Rangers find themselves without their top blueliner and a key threat offensively from the back end. While they won’t be able to add someone who can log the nearly 24 minutes per game that Fox can, finding someone who could help in the offensive zone in a more limited role could be more doable.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that New York is looking to see if they can acquire someone to help quarterback the power play. One player he suggested as a possible option is former Ranger Erik Gustafsson who is currently playing in the minors after the Red Wings passed him through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Interestingly, offense from the defense hasn’t been an issue for the Rangers in the early going this season with their blueliners combining for 16 tallies, good for fourth in the league. Fox only has three of those while newcomer Vladislav Gavrikov is leading the way with six.
However, Gavrikov, nor any of their other defenders, is a natural power play threat. As a result, the Rangers have, at times, gone with five-forward units while Braden Schneider is second among New York defenders in power play ice time per game; he has all of one goal in 29 outings this season. With Gavrikov not being utilized at all with the man advantage, their existing options are limited.
The Rangers currently have a power play success rate (19.4%) that checks in just below the league average (20%) while offensively, they’re in the bottom third of the league in total goals scored. Filtering by conference, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the East in terms of goals per game. Suffice it to say, there is certainly a void for GM Chris Drury to try to fill here.
However, their salary cap flexibility is rather limited. Per PuckPedia, the Rangers are more than $1MM into LTIR already and while Fox being on there gives them some short-term wiggle room, they have to get back into compliance when he’s activated (or just over the $95.5MM ceiling as Matt Rempe is also on there at the moment). That means whoever they look to get needs to be someone who has a cap hit that can be cleared off the books when Fox comes back.
That’s not the case with Gustafsson. In the final season of a two-year deal, he carries a $2MM cap charge, one that’s lowered to $850K while he’s in the minors. Gustafsson could fit the extra role they want to fill as he did a few years ago with them but the higher cap charge means that Detroit would either need to retain or New York would need to send someone the other way to partially offset the money. Whether they find a way to make that work or find someone else to fill that void, it appears that Drury is searching for some outside help on the back end.
How about a new owner?
How about a new GM
If Drury didn’t move Miller perhaps he wouldn’t need to. He’s failed as a GM.
Oh yeah let’s hire another Ahl guy and play him over talented kids.
Or send away high draft picks Rangers can’t pick the right players in the first two draft rounds anyway.
Nurse for Fox if both would waive their NMC’s.
Would never happen, but makes some sense.
Would never happen because it makes no sense. Drury is stupid but I don’t think he’s that stupid. Fox also isn’t waiving his NTC to go to Edmonton. He didn’t want to play in Carolina, you think he wants to play in Alberta?
Fox forced his way to the Rangers. Grew up I. The area and was a fan as a kid. He’s not going anywhere.
Please take Douchard gosh that guy is a complete anchor you can score 80 points but if you give away 100 of them what good is that that guy should never be in the NHL he’s absolute garbage
Ah yes, the yearly Rangers cry for another star player to come in and save the season. Two years they had a pretty decent team and lost , so the ever brilliant GM had to break the team down, get rid of the coach and not rebuild because the Rangers never rebuild. so another new coach, different players and the same crap team only with different names on their sweaters skate around MSG with their heads up the butts. I love every minute of it. The Rangers are a loser organization, and always have been and always will be. One Cup in 85 years and counting. Ah yes it’s Christmas.
The Rangers did rebuild. The mistake was moving players for the sake of moving them due to salary only to sign someone less capable when perhaps it should’ve been left alone. The trend line was up and it doesn’t happen over night. Drury messed this one up.
One of the ‘better’ deals was moving J.T. Miller befre his prime and trading for him after his prime and then giving him ‘C’
Not saying I trust Drury at all… but give Morrow a chance! He’s gotta figure out the defense, but he’s an in house option to be a PP specialist. No mortgaging future on a season that’s probably not going anywhere
Well, if the Rangers have had enough of Laffy (which is a distinct possibility), they could trade him for a d-man and have some cap space left over..
Not the worst thought, although I imagine his trade value is pretty low right now…
I think they should move him down to 3rd line with Laba and Berard – see if he can get some momentum going with easier matchups and a simpler game plan (as he did on the kids line of 3 years ago). Cuylle is adequate in the top 6, at least relatively speaking.