Let's take a look at this roster player by player and figure where they fit beyond this year:
Nash: Going nowhere, NMC through next season. Earliest he can be traded is next summer. Stuck with him.
Stepan: Second year of his bridge deal. He gets his pay day next summer. Good top 6 center. Horrible on faceoffs. Have him do power skating and faceoff practice over the summer. Nothing else.
Kreider: Hope his hand is ok. Should be a force for us soon. He's a smart player, but I'm a little unsettled by his undisciplined penalties at times. Can top out as a 30 goal power forward for us. Keep him.
Pouliot: Found his role as an NHL player. Big, finally using his frame, shades of skill. Bring him back for another year. Let Duclair give him a run for his money in training camp.
Brassard: Creative, but maddeningly inconsistent. Speaks volumes when he's our most physically engaged player some nights. Very troubling. Qualify him at 3.7 million for the year. Re-assess next summer.
Zuccarello: Biggest balls on the team at 5'5". Sign him to a 3-4 year deal worth 3.5-4 million.
Hagelin: Guy would be a star in this league if he had better hands and uses his speed to cut to the middle of the ice more like he did tonight to score the first goal. Those moments are few and far in between though. He's our best trade chip to land an upgrade, preferably for a forward with a bit more grit and better hands.
Richards: Buy him out. Lands back in Tampa with Callahan. I don't think his buy out is as forgone a conclusion as most may think, though.
St. Louis: Threw a hissy fit and demanded a trade here. Stuck with him. Was good in the series vs. Phiily, a liability against Pittsburgh. Still a top 30 player in the league.
Boyle: Bring him back. Sign him up for 3 more years at a slight raise from 1.7 million.
D. Moore: Ditto from Boyle. Bring him back, but for two years.
Carcillo: Bring him back. Sparkplug, and surprisingly has played very disciplined hockey here.
Dorsett: I can go either way with him. Some nights I think he should absolutely stay and that there's more potential, other nights he's a careless baboon that should be in the AHL. If a team likes him as part of a package for an upgrade for us, I'm all ears. One more year at 1.66 million
McDonagh: Shoulder is obviously still bothering him. Very uncharacteristic of him to be playing this poorly in the playoffs when he played some of his best college hockey in the NCAA tournament and Frozen Four. He'll be back.
Girardi: He's the glue that holds the defense together. Bringing him back was a good investment.
Staal: The Flyers series told me he was a must re-sign next summer. However, watching Pittsburgh, I'm starting to have doubts over whether another defenseman making north of 5 million dollars would be that good of an investment.
Stralman: Bring him back. Make Allen, Skjei, and McIlrath beat him out for spots on the team. Look to trade him when it looks like one of those guys is ready to handle 16 minutes a night and not be a liability.
J. Moore: Our second best trade chip. Think he's maxed out his potential, which is a solid bottom pairing guy that can spot minutes on the second pair for a couple of games. He's still young and would hold some value in a trade.
Diaz: Bring him back. Good depth defenseman that can spot minutes playing with a defensively responsible partner (Staal, Klein).
Klein: Keep him for now, but there's no room for him and Stralman on the same defensive corps. They play too similar a game. I give the slight edge to keeping Klein long term. He'll end up being cheaper and give you the same offensive output and steady defensive game Stralman gives.
Lundqvist: Career Ranger. Going nowhere.
Talbot: If another GM desperate for a goalie gets silly and offers a really good offensive prospect or 1st rounder for him, trade him. If not, keep him and re-assess next summer.
So basically, we're looking at the same team next year, with perhaps a bit of re-tooling to bring in a forward with a bit more snarl. This team is woefully weak mentally and physically. This also might be the most skilled Rangers team I've ever seen with the least finishers. All playmakers and no snipers or triggermen. A lot of redundant pieces both on offense and defense. Time will tell. This summer and next are huge in shaping the team moving forward. The best we can hope for is that they draft well and we get lucky with a couple of the young guys we have now. If the Rangers hit with two of Miller, Lindberg, Duclair, and Buchnevich, they'll be ok, but to me, considering the luck this franchise has had, it's a long shot.
One positive is it looks like they'll get to keep their 1st round draft pick this year. Until Sather trades it to San Jose for the rights to negotiate with Joe Thornton before free agency.
Thornton and Marleau signed matching extensions after the trade deadline two months ago. Dodged that bullet, but ended up with St. Louis instead.