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NHL Trade Deadline: Grading the Rangers, Devils, and Islanders moves

By John Carroll Jr.

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 06: Ryan McDonagh (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 06: Ryan McDonagh (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 19: (l-r) Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers and assistant coach Lindy Ruff (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 19: (l-r) Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers and assistant coach Lindy Ruff (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Rangers and GM Jeff Gorton were very busy during the days leading up to the NHL trade deadline. I believe they did very well.

NHL Trade Deadline Approach: Sell and build

Traded Away: D Nick Holden (BOS), F Michael Grabner (NJ), F Rick Nash (BOS), D Ryan Graves (COL), D Ryan McDonagh (TB), F J.T. Miller (TB)

Traded For: D Rob O’Gara (BOS), D Yegor Rykov (NJ), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), F Ryan Beleskey (BOS), D Ryan Lindgren (BOS), D Chris Bigras (COL), F Vladislav Namestnikov (TB), D Libor Hajek (TB), F Brett Howden (TB), 2018 first-round pick (BOS), 2018 first-round pick (TB), 2018 second-round pick (NJ) 2018 third-round pick (BOS), 2018 seventh-round pick (BOS), 2019 conditional second-round pick (TB)

Grade: A

This would be a B if the Rangers front office was not under pressure from owner James Dolan like it has been reported, which put them in a pinch.

Also, the classy move to write a letter to fans saying they were rebuilding was great to see and kind of saved them.

The Rangers did not do what fans wanted to see their team do at the deadline. Trade its captain and long-tenured players for picks and prospects, I get that.

But for Blue Shirt faithful, look at the big picture.

First off, brilliant job not trading Henrik Lundqvist. I know that was never really a possibility but they definitely had to get some offers. Keeping Hank for at least the rest of this year is a good move. He’s still got it and is NYC royalty.

Anyway, the real positive about this deadline is what the Rangers got for Rick Nash. Nash, who is a great hockey player, has had an off-year.

His value is not as high as it could have been and the Rangers convinced Boston they were getting something similar to the guy New York got years ago and not the 33-year-old vet.

Nash is a great player but to get a first-rounder and young prospects is literally the point of what they are doing.

Trading Michael Grabner was smart too. It’s maybe not the best that he went to the division rival Devils but obviously, that was the best deal they got for him.

The only real sad thing for Ranger fans is the Ryan McDonagh trade. Even though he is not the first Ranger captain to head down south to wear Lightning blue, it still must sting.

It’s tough anytime a long-tenured player and team captain gets traded, but once again, the return was big.

Maybe everyone would rather have McDonagh then another first-round pick but that is how you rebuild.

Overall, if I’m a Rangers fan, I would be bummed that I have to get used to all the new faces, but thrilled that they are actually going to build something new.

It was obvious this current team went as far as they possibly could in the playoffs.

So, they get an A. The nostalgia loses sting but they met their goal. They have young top prospects and a plethora of picks to build something potentially special.

If not for the Winnipeg Jets going all-in this year, I would argue the Rangers won the entire deadline solely based on the return they got for their house cleaning.

Well done.

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