New York Rangers: Midseason State of the Union Address
Defensemen
The defense group has been banged up a lot this season but I think everything that the front office wants is in the organization. This doesn’t mean that there couldn’t still be some tweaking.
As we all know, heading into the season the New York Rangers biggest deficiency was not having a puck-moving defenseman that can be a weapon on the power play.
The Rangers finally silenced this complaint in the offseason with the Kevin Shattenkirk signing, but unfortunately, as of right now it does not matter, as he is sidelined for an unknown amount of time due to knee surgery.
Shattenkirk signed a four-year deal with the Rangers and is certainly involved in future plans as I see no scenario where they deal him.
The other defenseman that was acquired over the summer was the young Anthony DeAngelo who came over in the Derek Stepan deal. DeAngelo possesses a similar play style as he can get the puck to the net and move it well on the ice.
DeAngelo was called up in the last couple weeks and has been serviceable but nothing flashy. He currently has three points in 12 total games.
He has the potential but I don’t think he has made the impact the Rangers were hoping for right off the bat considering what they gave up for him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if DeAngelo was involved in some kind of deal come deadline time as I think they could be using him right now to try to showcase him. Otherwise, he could still be groomed to possibly be the offensive-defenseman they want him to be.
Nick Holden is another player that will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and could definitely be mixed into some kind of deal.
He has been playing on the top defensive pairing along with captain Ryan McDonagh and has been one of the more trustworthy players on the ice for head coach Alain Vigneault this year.
McDonagh is another unfortunate name that has been tossed around amongst deadline rumors if the Rangers get really desperate for a big deal. He only scored his first two goals of the season in their last game, but he makes up with 22 assists. Defensively, McDonagh is an invaluable asset.
He is a world-class player and it would be a tough casualty for fans to face, but the return that they could get for him could really refresh their lineup.
The one piece of the Rangers defense that the organization has obvious future plans for is Brady Skjei. He is a player that other teams have made offers for in the past and the Rangers refused.
Skjei was named to the All-Rookie team last year and is arguably one of the most valuable assets the Rangers have right now.
I think that while we thought the New York Rangers solved their defensive problems this past summer, the group has been banged up and could maybe use another name to add on, and if not, a young prospect that will provide a bright future.