New York Rangers jumpstart rebuild with impressive deadline haul

Credit the New York Rangers for being bold enough to rebuild, as they got a nice jumpstart to the process by picking up an impressive trade deadline bounty.

Entering the 2018 NHL trade deadline, the New York Rangers found themselves as sellers for the first time in a while. Their awful month of February certainly helped move things along. At the start of 2018, the Rangers found themselves with a questionable future at best. But thanks to their aggressive selling, New York finds themselves with a bright future.

It’s outstanding the Rangers went from not picking in the first-round from 2013 to 2016 to having two first-round picks in 2017, three in 2018, and most likely no fewer than two in 2019. New York went from having an unimpressive prospect system to one that is at worst slightly above average.

The draft picks are lottery tickets and largely depend on the Rangers using them correctly, so they won’t be included in this post. But let’s take a look at the concrete assets the Rangers got at the trade deadline and how they should help the team moving forward.

Yegor Rykov

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In the Michael Grabner trade, New York got a second-round pick and blueline prospect Yegor Rykov. He is noteworthy for several reasons. First of all, Rykov is doing pretty well in the KHL, with 14 points in 51 games. He’s likely ready to come over to North America.

What makes him quite intriguing is Rykov plays for SKA St. Petersburg. This is relevant because that’s the same team Ilya Kovalchuk plays for. He’s rumored to be seeking an NHL deal after this season and the Rangers are likely on his short list of teams he’d like to play for. It’s plausible Kovalchuk could help influence Rykov to come over to North America.

Another reason this is noteworthy is Rangers goaltending prodigy Igor Shestyorkin plays for SKA St. Petersburg as well. New York has been keeping an eye on their young Russian goalie, so it’s obvious they’re familiar with Rykov as well.

Ryan Lindgren

They got him in the Bruins trade. Ryan Lindgren is a stay at home defenseman who doesn’t bring much to the table on offense. He’s likely more of an organizational depth guy, which isn’t a terrible thing. Lindgren’s ceiling is likely a third-pairing defenseman who specializes on the penalty kill.

Why did the Rangers target him instead of someone with a bit more potential? Who knows. But there is some value in going with safe options. Lindgren is a fairly known commodity. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up for debate.

Ryan Spooner and Vladislav Namestnikov

The Rangers got the former in the Rick Nash trade with the Boston Bruins and the latter in the Ryan McDonagh blockbuster. Both fall under the same category of guys who will get an extended look until this offseason when both players become restricted free agents.

Spooner has always had potential but was never going to fulfill it in Boston. He’s very similar to J.T. Miller. Spooner will get chances with the depleted Rangers roster. It’ll be up to him to prove he’s worthy of a long-term commitment. After putting up 49 points in his first full season (2014-15), he has yet to reach that plateau again.

Namestnikov, on paper, looks outstanding. It’s hard to see his 44 points this season (a career high) and not get excited. But some context is required. Before this season, Namestnikov had a career high of 35 points. So why the huge jump in points? Playing a lot of minutes alongside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov will do the trick.

This isn’t to say Namestnikov isn’t a valuable player. He can play all over the lineup and is a pretty reliable two-way forward. However, it’s fair to question if Namestnikov can produce away from elite players. The Rangers must find this out before this offseason because he’s likely going to command a pretty hefty extension with his point total.

Both Spooner and Namestnikov might be guys who have more value to the team as trade chips than future players. And that’s fine because the Rangers should be able to flip both of them for a nice return in the offseason.

Libor Hajek

The Rangers got Libor Hajek in the McDonagh trade. It’s obvious New York thought very highly of him. As a huge fan of Hajek, it’s not hard to see why. In the WHL this season, split between the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats, entering Feb. 27, he has 35 points in 54 games. For a defenseman, that’s pretty good.

Hajek’s best asset is his defense. He’s fast and quick. More importantly, Hajek makes very smart decisions, especially in his own zone. He’s an offensively gifted defenseman who is still extremely reliable defensively. Hajek’s ceiling is a second pairing defenseman. I see him being one. The Rangers really needed to add some blueline talent. By getting both Rykov and Hajek, they did precisely that.

Brett Howden

Rangers fans will probably remember me for not being a huge fan of the return for McDonagh and J.T. Miller. They got a perfectly fine return for the duo, but you don’t trade your captain and a flawed, but extremely talented, wing for a “fine” return.

New York went from having an unimpressive prospect system to one that is at worst slightly above average.

Brett Howden is a nice prospect for the Rangers. He’s a center who is likely going to stick there. Entering Feb. 27, Howden has 60 goals and 79 assists in his last 96 WHL games (all with the Moose Jaw Warriors). At 6-foot-2, he has the size NHL teams love to see in centers. Howden is a physical center who is also skilled.

However, he’s not overly impressive. Howden has a well-rounded game, but nothing jumps out at you when you see him play. That said, I’d be willing to bet Howden’s an NHL player at some point. Most likely, he’ll be a solid top-nine forward for the Rangers. Maybe even top-six.

Howden should compete for a forward spot in 2018-19 for the Rangers. The wacky, silly, pointless rules didn’t let him go to the AHL this season, where he honestly should have been. Howden is merely a prospect at this point. He’s not an elite one, but expect him to be a very solid contributor for the Rangers.

It’s fair to question why New York didn’t get more for McDonagh and Miller. They should have gotten at least one of Mikhail Sergachev and Brayden Point. But overall, the Rangers are off to an extremely nice start to their rebuild. They don’t have any elite prospects other than Filip Chytil (and even he’s on the lower portion of that tier), but they have a very nice crop of second-tier prospects.

Next: Every NHL Team's Mount Rushmore

Despite just entering their rebuilding stage, the blue shirts are already better off than most rebuilding teams. I’m not sure if that says more about the Rangers or the other teams, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

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