New York Ranger Trades: Jeff Gorton Relocation Review

Now that the dust has started to dissipate, emotions have started to come back, and we hope to have a clearer picture of what is happening. It is time to take stock of what has happened in recent days.

negotiated: Zuccarello

Return: a conditional 2nd 2019 * and a conditional 3rd 2020 **
* If Dallas wins two qualifying heats and Zuccarello plays 50% of his playoff games, this selection becomes a 1st 2019
** If Zuccarello signs again in Dallas, this choice becomes a 1st edition 2020

It is zero. The returns were relatively disappointing, and I think it says a lot about the fact that the biggest fish in the pond (Mark Stone) did not even land in the first round – even though he got the best hope of far, the best year.

I've seen a lot of complaints about how Jeff Gorton is a bad general manager for not "negotiating" a better return for Mats Zuccarello. I understand that the emotional level of this return is not good enough for what it meant for the organization, but it was a market value. Gorton is not able to magically create trading partners and create a bidding war. Not waiting until Monday would have seen a bad deal worse as the team was more and more desperate to unload it. If you want to be angry at Gorton, be angry for letting the situation get worse until it becomes a "Zuccarello must be traded because we do not agree to a new deal with him" . But more about it in a moment.

When Gustav Nyquist signed an agreement less favorable than Zuccarello (identical choices, but the Nyquist agreement has only one condition: the 3rd of 2020 can become a 2nd of 2020), it was proved that Gorton had obtained a slightly higher market value. Again, if you want to be upset by the unsatisfactory return on the table, that's perfectly logical, but it's not because Gorton has accepted a worse deal than the one he was offered, or not managed to "negotiate" more business partners. That's how it works.

For me, once you enter within two weeks of the transaction deadline, you are a victim of market trends. If it's a sellers' market where there were not up to six first-rate UFA rents, then we'll probably see a more "expected" return for Zuccarello. And at the end of the day, it's sort of the current rate for Zaucarello rentals:

The case was good. It was not great (unless one of these conditions was met) but it was good.

I was annoyed by the fact that Ryan Dzingel is more assured than Zuccarello, but that does not take into account that Dzingel is 26 years old and is ready to return to Columbus as soon as they are ready to start speaking. He also scored goals – 23 last year in 79 games and 22 in 57 this season – and teams tend to pay for a scorer rather than a playmaker. Not everything is black and white and this is even more true during the two week period.

Prioritize rough drafts versus perspectives

It's shocking that Gorton sent Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and Adam McQuaid and brought a body back to Brendan Lemieux (not to mention the American League substitute Julius Bergman). It's not a bad thing, it's a good surprise.

We have discussed it at length, but I will repeat it here: you are always inherent disadvantage when negotiating for the prospect of another team. This is usually a reason why these types are made available, and this normally comes in the form of red flags under the hood that you have no way of knowing.

For a reconstruction team, this is a struggle: are you going with guys who are more ready for the NHL but who may have problems you do not know? Or do you opt for repechage where there is a cleaner table, but you sacrifice the moment of their impact to do it? For what the Rangers are trying to do, I agree with Gorton's decision to attack the B grade candidates. Assuming that no conditions are met on the Zuccarello deal, the Rangers will have two guaranteed choices in the first round this year and three guaranteed choices in the second round. If Dallas struggles with injury problems, the Rangers could consider four selections in the top 45 spots. Do you want to be able to integrate elite talent into the system that is sorely lacking? This is one way to do it, especially if you give priority to rising as in 2018.

In the absence of elite-level market prospects (apart from the agreement with Stone), it was probably the right of more. It's fair to assume that Dallas had prospects on the table for Zuccarello that Gorton did not like, so he chose to make choices. Calgary would have been on Hayes until the end, but perhaps would not have placed a 1st on the table or had done with a prospect a level lower than Lemieux. If so, thank you to Gorton for taking the picks and taking things in hand.

Lemieux and what his acquisition says of Gorton's state of mind (more here)

I wrote about Lemieux in detail (link above), and Adam wrote a new screening report here. We also talked a lot about him on the podcast this week (Ep. 129) if you're so inclined to listen to him.

I have mentioned above the fact that we can not know what Gorton has refused or not. It will be a little contradictory, but I will draw a line here. Nic Petan has been relocated to Toronto for a 27-year getaway and has been on the market for weeks. The asking price was a medium level choice according to some. I find it very difficult to believe that it would not have been made available to Hayes, especially since Lemieux sparked interest throughout the league when he became Ranger of New York.

Petan represents a different type of risk from Lemieux's, but it also represents a much higher cap. Larry Brooks applauded the move Lemieux added, "moxie," the Rangers now needed David Quinn, and he was not the only one. The Rangers should not be reprimanded for wanting to play this way, but their idea of ​​how to make this work more effective is generally to get fools who can not play hockey. Let's hope Lemieux is able to do it and has the potential to do it. It is very good.

This specific agreement is not a hill on which to die, but it would be disappointing if Lemieux had priority over Petan. Rangers are in a position where they need skills and talents wherever they can find them. Lemieux is a north-south hockey player who will go to the corners and break the net. So there could be a component on the ice too, but I hope the Rangers will continue to show some talent. In this case, it may have been possible or not, but my instinct tells me that Gorton gave Lemieux priority.

Defense remains a major problem (more here)

Adam McQuaid's trade brought a slight downgrade from what it cost to get them, but it was an expected move we had been waiting for weeks. He cleared a spot on the defense, but there are still seven corps for six places.

Fredrik Claesson has seen a lot of his name, but nothing has materialized on this front and he will remain Ranger. Tony DeAngelo has scored seven points and is becoming one of Quinn's best defenders. He even deserves praise from the head coach for the media. Neal Pionk – despite his enormous struggles – is still used as defender of the upper pair. Marc Staal is not going anywhere soon, nor is Brady Skjei. My instinct tells me that Brendan Smith will be the uncommon man most often, but he could be acting from a rotation.

DeAngelo, Pionk and Claesson are all calls for applications at the end of the year. Keeping all three would mean that Gorton would need to trade or redeem one of the Smith, Skjei, Kevin Shattenkirk or Staal titles – which probably will not happen. This decision will be important because it is strange to think that Pionk is that top-pair that he just … well … look for yourself.

Speaking of …

The decisions of the summer arrive

The defensive tenders aside, there were a few players on the deadline that will probably resurface this summer, namely Claesson and Vlad Namestnikov. But there are other decisions that can and will probably be examined here too. Jimmy Vesey and Jesper Fast have a mandate and could interest a team ready to overpay because of his reputation. Also add Pionk. Ryan Stome could see some action, while Pavel Buchnevich and Lemieux need to be re-signed. There is more to come this summer.

Gorton said the Rangers did not shy away from using their resources to "speed up" the rebuilding, but that could be a dangerous game. He specifically said that he was not necessarily talking about this summer, but the team will look at all options. Unless there is a comeback – and even if there is one – the Rangers are likely to be a very bad team next year. Spending assets to be a little better is not a good deal.

In addition, some of the projects that Gorton plans to be "active" in the RFA market have no value. It's another very dangerous game. The 2020 project seems to be one of the best of recent memory and teams are protecting their 2020 choices like young children. Losing a first in 2020 for a compensation deal for a player who moves little, it could be a disaster, it would be a catastrophic disaster: to bring back a team to rebuild years back if it misses a lottery slot because of that. Gorton must make sure that it is not a road he uses.

The dream of making assets

When asked to sign Zuccarello again this summer, the Gorton government said Mats was a member of a different organization and could not talk about it.

It's a long way from saying that Zuccarello and the Rangers have had friction all year long (another shameless record for this week's podcast, but I've talked about it in more detail here), starting with the fact that Quinn did not visit him in Norway, so Gorton never really tried to keep him. When both parties finally sat down, Zuccarello asked for a reasonable agreement (for a starting point) and a five-year negotiation. The feeling of the whole team was that Zuccarello's time in New York was over. For real.

This could be a ploy or a very good acting game. It is possible for both parties to review their activities this summer to see if there is common ground – which should have been done months ago – but it would require some cooling. If Dallas does not keep Zuccarello, he will probably go to the market (I can not see them getting anything important for his rights) and they can try again. If they keep it, the Rangers are getting a coveted match for 2020, there are some chances for it to be done well.

Hayes reportedly asked for a seven-million-dollar market over seven years. It's a lot of dough, but again, the two sides never really negotiated. Darren Dreger of TSN seems to believe there is a chance that Hayes will come back, but it is fair to say that the numbers should be nicer for the Rangers, and there is no reason for this offer or better not exist on the open market.

Basically, I would not bet that happening.

Any thoughts on all this?