Free Agent Profile: Tyler Motte

With their sights set on a Stanley Cup, the New York Rangers found themselves active buyers at last year’s trade deadline. Though the team made a few additions, forward Andrew Copp, who the team acquired from the Winnipeg Jets, stole most of the attention. However, the team would have one of the more underrated deadline pickups, bringing in two-way energy forward Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks. While it was the likes of Copp, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Artemi Panarin that drove the Rangers offense up front, Motte showed through his complete game just how valuable he was to a team that was able to make a deeper playoff run than many had anticipated.

At age 27, Motte is a veteran of six NHL seasons, spending time with the Rangers and Canucks, as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks, who originally drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He debuted in 2016-17 with Chicago, but was dealt that offseason alongside Panarin to the Blue Jackets. Columbus dealt him just a few months later in the trade that brought Thomas Vanek the other way from Vancouver. Motte spent parts of five seasons in Vancouver prior to this season’s trade to the Rangers, where he would interestingly be teammates with Panarin on the third different team in as many seasons played together.

Never known much for his offensive game, Motte has made a career for himself out of being a high-energy and defensively reliable forward who can play in all situations. This season represented arguably his best, putting up seven goals and eight assists in 58 games, all of those coming in the 49 games he played for Vancouver. His highest point total came in 2018-19, where he had 16, however that came over 74 games. Where Motte becomes increasingly valuable is his ability to contribute on the penalty kill and to play in his own zone, which most notably includes a career 71% defensive zone starts percentage versus 29% in the offensive zone. In other words, Motte is capable and trusted to play important shifts of defensive hockey for his teams.

This summer is Motte’s first on the open market, coming off a two-year, $2.45MM contract that featured a $1.225MM AAV, having previously been an RFA. Although news has been quiet in regards to his free agency, there was plenty of chatter surrounding the veteran ahead of the market opening up, having impressed with his overall game and his poise in the Rangers playoff run, where he contributed two goals in 15 games….