Vatrano is a decent player on a hot run with the new team. The sheen on him will wear off by the time the playoff run is over. He's the last player of the new acquisitions I look to bring back. You bring Brennan Othmann in next year on an ELC and he can do the same job.
I want to see Kakko on a line with Panarin and Copp centering them when healthy. If the shoe fits, that's your second line next year. The Rangers need to find a way to get Lafreniere more ice time. He's starting to get it.
Don't galaxy brain it. Give Copp a fair number for 5 years during this group's contention window and get to work. Let the young wingers on ELC's fill in the gaps during the open window. Maybe bring Motte back, but you need to find a way to get Reaves' cap off the books.
Reaves looks gassed. He hasn't been an everyday player his whole career and he comes to New York and now at 35 you're expecting him to play 80 games? No way man. I'm looking at the schedule for the next couple of weeks and the rest of the year. You play him against the Islanders on Friday and rest him until the next Islanders game on April 21. Maybe the Bruins and Caps on the 23rd and 29th too. There's no reason he needs to play against Detroit, Philly, Jersey, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg, Ottawa, or Carolina.