Ranking Gorton’s moves

[JT Kreider]

The Eric Staal trade was actually a good one on paper. We gave up very little for a 31-year old Staal who went on to have 28 and 42 goal seasons the next two years following the trade. He could have and should have been a very useful player for us, but AV completely used him wrong. Staal was basically used as a third line grinding winger instead of the impact goal-scoring Center and possession monster that he is, and he's proven that he's still all those things with the Wild.

Even Staal in his prime at his best wouldnt have been enough to beat that Penguins team and it was obvious that years Cup ran through Pittsburgh. It was a horrible read by Gorton and instead of buying we should have sold off Yandle. Its easy to say it did not really hurt us in the long run now but damn at the time things were not looking good after that one and done.

We had the worst prospect pool in the league, coming up on like our 5th straight draft with no 1st round pick, and the core was aging and locked into expensive contracts.

It's hard to believe that was less than 4 years ago with how much has changed since.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I agree with most of this. I'd probably swap some things around after the 5 spot, but nothing that I am too zealous about.

I will disagree about number 11 though.

I think if we're doing to celebrate trading Skjei for the cap space it created, then you have to factor in the $12m we'd be paying for McD and Miller right now, instead of how we're currently allocating the money. Then, on top of that, you have two young players who could be a potential pair in the NHL, including a guy who is emerging as an upper tier prospect in the sport, Brett Howden, and Henriksson. That's fair value.

I also think that a lot of the ire towards the return has to deal with their usage of both Hajek and Howden. They both needed time in the AHL, especially Howden. I understand Quinn's philosophy on handling each player differently in that respect, but I've really struggled to figure out why Howden hasn't been given a chance to be Hartford's 1C for a bit this season. I think getting him to show his scoring prowess could help him right the ship a little bit.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Gauthier for Keane will be a steal. That should be on the poll.

 

[Edge]

I also think that a lot of the ire towards the return has to deal with their usage of both Hajek and Howden. They both needed time in the AHL, especially Howden. I understand Quinn's philosophy on handling each player differently in that respect, but I've really struggled to figure out why Howden hasn't been given a chance to be Hartford's 1C for a bit this season. I think getting him to show his scoring prowess could help him right the ship a little bit.

I have two schools of thought on Howden.

Personally, I still like Howden. I think time and patience with him will be virtue, and I honestly don't think what he's done to this point, before the age of 22, is nearly as bad as what some make it out to be.

Having said that, my like for him as a prospect isn't a hall pass for the rest of his career. I need to start seeing some more progress from him and him start to embrace an actual role. I also think a few stints in Hartford would have served him well. But he doesn't make that decision.

Regarding the broader trade, I'd easily do the trade again --- especially in 2020 with how we used some of the assets.

If a team came to the Rangers and said, we'll give McD and Miller for Lundkvist, Hajek, Howden, Henriksson and a fourth, I wouldn't take that deal. Even if you took out the names of players we picked, and just went with the picks, I wouldn't do McD and Miller for Howden, Hajek, a first, a second and a fourth.

McD is once again proving that his style wrecks his second half and playoff abilities.

Miller is essentially in the same situation as Strome, only with a longer/more expensive commitment at this point.

And the $12 million it would cost to pay them would have a reverberating effect on the roster --- due in part to some combination of not having Panarin, Kreider, Trouba and maybe even other names.

Is it Gorton's best move? No, not necessarily. But I don't think it's a bad move by any stretch. Right now, based on the factors I listed above, I'd give it a solid B --- with a chance to grade higher depending on what some of the prospects do moving forward.

But I also think Gorton has set the bar so high on a lot of these moves, that we're judging them by a higher standard --- which is a pretty positive indication of the type of job he's doing.

 

[Joey Bones]

You can't assume he would have been the Rangers' pick. And, with Fox and DeAngelo here, Pionk isn't getting the icetime he currently does in Winnipeg. And the Rangers would lack the physical element that Trouba brings. Too many variables with the deal. Not to mention, it's only his first season here.

I’m primarily basing on the way Trouba has been playing. Think he’s streaky & not in the good way. Turns over the puck too much.

 

[Barnaby]

Nils Lundkvist hasn’t played an NHL game yet. He looks promising but slow down. Howden and Hajek have looked horrific in their NHL games. Likes really atrocious, should be career AHLers. Namestnikov is a useless throw away player that we gave too much money. Even if Lundkvist becomes a solid NHLer, I highly doubt he has the combined value of Miller and McDonagh.

Agreed. Short of Nils Lundkvist becoming the next Nik Lidstrom that trade will probably go down as Gortons worst, although fair to say Gorton has done a great job elsewhere. McDonagh/Miller had a ton of combined value. I won’t beat them up too much for “at the time” but at best your probably looking at a 4C in Howden, a 3rd pairing defenseman in Hajek, and whatever becomes of Nils. I think moving those players was the right move, but they obviously didn’t target the right guys. I’m not saying that they could’ve gotten Sergachev or Point but I have to believe that there were other deals to make and maybe combining Miller with McDonagh wasn’t a great strategy. Of course, this is all hindsight but that’s what we are doing here.

 

[Allan92]

Even Staal in his prime at his best wouldnt have been enough to beat that Penguins team and it was obvious that years Cup ran through Pittsburgh. It was a horrible read by Gorton and instead of buying we should have sold off Yandle. Its easy to say it did not really hurt us in the long run now but damn at the time things were not looking good after that one and done.

We had the worst prospect pool in the league, coming up on like our 5th straight draft with no 1st round pick, and the core was aging and locked into expensive contracts.

It's hard to believe that was less than 4 years ago with how much has changed since.

The atmosphere on these boards that summer was abysmal, definitely one of the worst times to be a Rangers fan since the dark ages