If you’re a Rangers fan who was looking for a glittery swapping season, flush with stars making their way to Broadway, this wasn’t exactly the NHL Trade Deadline for you. The Blueshirts addressed several needs, adding two forwards and a defenseman, but the big names who changed teams across the league went elsewhere.
Is that bad? Well, some Ranger fans are doubtless unhappy. And it’s a shift from last season when the Rangers gobbled up two stars – Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko – in buzzworthy trades. For all that sizzle, the season still ended in disappointment when the Rangers didn’t get out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
So maybe this year the likes of winger Jack Roslovic, center Alex Wennberg and D-man Chad Ruhwedel can help what is already a really good team go further. Gotham loves boldface names, but role players who click make it here, too.
Since Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler went down for the season, the Rangers have needed a third-line center and a top-line right wing. And every team needs more crease-front help if it intends to make a deep run through the grueling playoffs, which is where Ruhwedel, part of a Cup-winner in Pittsburgh, fits. He’ll likely get playing time immediately, too, as Rangers captain Jacob Trouba is expected to miss two-to-three weeks with a lower-body injury.
The Rangers did not reacquire Tarasenko, who went to the Panthers, as did former Buffalo captain Kyle Okposo. Make no mistake, Florida will be a problem. For everyone. The Rangers did not go big for another former champion from Pittsburgh, the electric Jake Guentzel, who now skates for Carolina. And other potential targets, such as Anaheim’s Frank Vatrano, stayed put. Doubtless, there are some Ranger fans who are unhappy their squad didn’t hunt stars and the Ranger trades probably won’t ring up many style points.
But the real referendum on GM Chris Drury’s deadline will come this spring, as it should. If Wennberg’s defensive chops help the third line shut down opposing snipers and Roslovic, a skilled player with two 20-goal seasons on his resume, contributes to unlocking the top line in 5-on-5 situations, the Rangers are even more dangerous than they already are.
Plus, they made their deals without surrendering a first-round draft pick or one of their prized prospects, all while adding some playoff experience.
Wennberg, 29, had nine goals and 16 assists in 60 games for the Seattle Kraken this season, so he’s not going to be filling up the net. His main strength is keeping opponents from scoring and he has 65 blocked shots, which led the Kraken’s forwards.
He figures to make an already-strong penalty-kill unit even stronger. Going into Saturday’s game against the visiting St. Louis Blues, the Rangers are ranked fifth in the NHL on the PK (83.2 percent). Wennberg has played in 42 playoff games in his career, including 14 last year with Seattle.
The 27-year-old Roslovic, who had been skating on the top line for the Columbus Blue Jackets, has six goals and 17 assists in 40 games this season, but has been hot lately with four goals and nine assists over his last 12 games. He figures to at least get some looks with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, which would bump Kaapo Kakko to a lower line.
Roslovic, the former 25th overall pick by Winnipeg, has 20 games of playoff experience, but has not tallied a playoff goal.
Ruhwedel was a member of the Penguins’ Cup winner in 2017 and has 25 games of postseason experience. The 33-year-old has one goal and three assists in 47 games this season and has played in 359 NHL contests in his career for Pittsburgh and Buffalo. He might see some time on the penalty kill, too.
As of Friday, the Rangers have the third-most points in the Eastern Conference and are one of only three teams in the NHL with at least 40 wins.
They are enjoying an explosive season from Artemi Panarin. Kreider is on pace for 40 goals. Alexis Lafreniere has blossomed. Vincent Trocheck has helped erase a former Blueshirt bugaboo (losing too many faceoffs) while cranking up his point production. Igor Shesterkin has been better over the past month and they are getting physical play from, among others, a fourth line that features Matt Rempe, a burgeoning cult fave among Ranger fans.
There is plenty to like about their chances this spring, especially if their additions contribute. And the Rangers retained picks, as well as prospects such as Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault. Kakko was not traded, either. The total cost in picks for getting Roslovic, Wennberg and Ruhwedel was this: a second-round pick in 2024, a conditional fourth-rounder in 2025, a conditional fourth-rounder in 2026 and a fourth-rounder in 2027.
The prices were palatable. Now it just has to work. The Rangers addressed their biggest holes at this deadline. The rest of the regular season – there are 20 games left – and the playoff grind immediately afterward will give us the final answer on how well they did.
