GM Chris Drury didn’t make a big splash, despite the rumors that he was engaged in several name players. Instead, as other options came off the board, he pivoted to bring in a depth, top-nine, possible top unit forward in Jack Roslovic. In addition, Drury added a solid enough stay at home defensive minded Blueliner for the third pairing in Chad Ruhwedel. Those two combined with Alex Wennberg comprise the trade deadline work done by the team.
The Rangers are a little deeper and possibly a little softer to play against, depending how the fourth line is configured. Roslovic provides speed on the wing and decent hands. His shooting percentage is down this year, so the hope is that he regresses to the mean. The cost for Roslovic was a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick to Columbus that will elevate to the third round if the Blueshirts reach the Stanley Cup Final and Roslovic plays in 50% of playoff games. Columbus also retained 50% of Roslovic’s salary.
Roslovic, who is in the final year of his contract, has six goals and 17 assists in 40 games. The good news is that he has been hot since mid-February, with 13 points in his last 12 games. Roslovic, who can play center and wing but should line up at right wing for the Rangers, has been injury prone in the past, which is a concern. In addition, he has yet to play to his talent level. The hope has to be that playing with upper tier talented players will unlock his full potential.
Drury pivoted late to grab Roslovic. Throughout the last day, several other right wing candidates came off the board. Jake Guentzel to Carolina, Jason Zucker to Nashville, Tyler Toffoli to Winnipeg, Jordan Eberle remained in Seattle, the same with Frank Vatrano in Anaheim and Max Pacioretty opted to stay in Washington. It’s pretty clear Vatrano and Guenztel were 1A and 1B but Drury initially didn’t want to pay the price for Vatrano and Adam Henrique while Pitt GM Kyle Dubas liked the deal from Carolina better.
What’s also clear is that the organization needs more prospect depth. Beyond Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault, the secondary and tertiary options that we may liked are possibly mot viewed the same throughout the league. The change in drafting strategy may help that, though lack of mid-tier picks - partially due to the poor drafting and free agent signings - had an impact here as well.
With the acquisition of Wennberg and Roslovic, the new lines might be:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Roslovic
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko
Vesey-Goodrow-Brodzinski
The fourth line will be fungible. Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe will be part of the mix. Brodzinski could be the odd man out and the opponent faced or need for energy may drive who dresses.
Ruhwedel is a decent depth d-man. Joel Edmondson and Troy Stechner went dealt yesterday. I prefer Ruhwedel to Matt Dumba, who went to Tampa today. If Eric Gustafsson is struggling, Ruhwedel can be paired with Braden Schneider. In the short term, Jacob
Trouba is out for 2-3 weeks with his lower-body injury, so either Ruhwedel or Zac Jones will step in for Trouba with the pairings shaken up as well. Based on that injury, the deal makes even more sense.
New York went for depth in 2022 and were rewarded with a run to the ECF. Last year, they went big name hunting and were knocked out in the first round. Granted, lots of factors were at play so you can’t just say that doing x led to y or vice versa. Historically thought, only four teams in last 20 or so years surrendered a first rounder in a deal and won the Cup.
I give Drury a B or B-. He was able to pivot late and fill needs. To me, that was one key. He provided options at center and wing to coach Peter Laviolette and lineup flexibility. In addition, Drury didn’t surrender either of New York’s big prospect and retained their first round pick. You can argue he should have been more aggressive and pursued some of the bigger olayers, which is a more than fair assessment. Irrespective of what Drury did at the deadline, this team will go far as far as their big names players take them. The hope is that the pieces brought in complement what they have.
The pressure is now on those big names. An early exit and major changes may take place. Mika Zibanejad needs to find his game 5x5 and drive play. The same with Chris Kreider. Artemi Panarin has to carry forward his in season play into the playoffs. Adam Fox must produce in all situation. K’Andre Miller needs to revert back to the player we saw in the 2022 playoffs. Same with Braden Schneider. Jacob Trouba must be the physical presence we saw in the past and limit the odd man rushes. What Igor Shesterkin needs to be is clear. If many of these happen, it should be a long run. If not, an early summer on Broadway looms.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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