But, in the short term, Snow's bold move should improve his team while putting more pressure on Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and Rangers GM Glen Sather to improve their struggling squads.
Both the Rangers and Devils need an established scorer such as Vanek in their lineup, and now he's off the trade market. It will be interesting to see if the rebuilding Sabres, as they should, flip Moulson, a three-time 30-goal scorer with the Islanders, by the March 5 trade deadline for additional draft picks.
The Devils were put in the impossible position of trying to replace Ilya Kovalchuk after he bolted for Russia, and no matter how smart and strong Jaromir Jagr is, at 41, it's unfair to expect him to still be that type of player for 20 minutes a game.
The Rangers, though, have deeper problems due to the uncertainty of Rick Nash being out indefinitely with a concussion.
Sather and the team's brass cannot wait too long to determine whether they need to import another top-six forward. The due diligence part of seeing what's available to the Rangers – and at what cost – has already begun.
The Rangers, pressed against the $64.3 million salary cap, would have had a hard time fitting in Vanek at $7.14 million. But neither can they or the Devils let the Islanders pull away in the standings since the realigned NHL only guarantees three playoff spots to the eight-team Metropolitan Division.
Starting tonight at Nassau Coliseum, on the revamped top line with Tavares and Kyle Okposo, Vanek may show the Rangers and Devils just how quickly they need to react.