What was the purpose of claiming this player in the first place? Seems not well-thought-out. Either they didn’t know the player or the player didn’t do what was expected. Or they’re just taking pot-shots. Or was he just keeping Fast’s seat warm? In which case, now that Fast looks healthy, this makes sense. I hope the rangers brass has a plan but I’m losing confidence.
I just saw this as taking a shot to grab a bottom-6 player for free to both avoid having to trade to get one and to let the kids gel in Hartford. With Fast just coming back, it's possible the team didn't want to throw him right into it if he wasn't 100%, and DD, Hayes, Vesey, etc. were slow to get going.
Didn't work. We move on. I think we all knew this year was going to be a step back in an attempt to retool.
Does it look great right now? No, but TDA and Andersson are two nice pieces to have in the system. The Andersson pick also allowed us to swing for the fences by taking a risk on Chytil. Will it work out? Who knows, but we had to do something because the cap will slowly be sneaking up on us with Miller, Hayes, Vesey, Skjei, Buch, etc. due for raises.
It's obvious that our current method isn't working, and so I think we're on the right path in terms of drafting well, developing prospects, and, ideally, coming to develop our own top talent. The blue-collar Blueshirts of 2011-2012 were a very close-knit group and were a lot of fun to root for, but that formula doesn't win, unfortunately.