Is it a step back to move forward? Clearly Gorton wanted to do something like this last offseason, but wasn't willing to bite the bullet and buyout Girardi and trade Stepan. Moves Brassard instead in a better deal.
The 2018-19 Rangers will likely have two 25-26 year old (Hayes and Zib) and one 19-20 year old centers on their roster. I don't think they are taking defense and there is no winger at #7 that would be worth the investment.
They're setting themselves up for the future centerpiece of the team. They have some guys now who will be here. Skjei, Buch, Vesey, Miller, Zibanejad. This offseason alone they've add Pionk, DeAngelo, and Bereglazov to that group. They're missing a top center to add to that wave. This #7 pick is very very likely to be that player.
Suzuki, Middlestadt, Vilardi, Pettersson, Glass. I believe that one of those players will be in our system in 5 hours. They will be the player that we'd be hanging hopes to winning a cup anytime soon.
This quote speaks volumes. This trade was not for 2017-18. It was for beyond that. This front office has a vision for this team for the future, one it hasn't had for the past 5 years.