At this time last offseason, the New York Rangers were coming off of a very disappointing first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils. They had made big moves at the trade deadline bringing in superstars like Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. They even went up 2-0 in that series, but everything fell apart and changes were made. Kane and Tarasenko left as free agents, head coach Gerard Gallant was let go and with a limited amount of cap space, the Rangers had to spend their money wisely.
They brought in veteran players like Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick, Erik Gustafsson, and Nick Bonino and each of them signed for less than $1 million on their deals. However, only two of these signings really worked out. Quick and Gustafsson were good for the team last season, but Bonino played very poorly and had his contract terminated, while Wheeler was a shell of himself, got injured, missed the rest of the season, and played in one playoff game.
This offseason, the Rangers once again did not do much in regard to bringing in new players. They will mostly have the same roster that got them a Presidents’ Trophy and another Eastern Conference Final appearance. Going into this season, there is an argument to be made that the projected roster is better than the one last season, and in this piece, we are going to go over some of the reasons why.
Reilly Smith Will Be Better Than Blake Wheeler
The biggest move made by the Rangers this offseason happened on Free Agency Frenzy Day, but it did not involve them signing a free agent. It was the making of a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire Reilly Smith. He spent one season with the Penguins, traded there by the Vegas Golden Knights after helping them win a Stanley Cup. He never really fit with the Penguins and had a down season, scoring just 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games. Prior to that, he was a very effective player for Vegas, scoring over 50 points in four of his six seasons with the team. He was also a very good playoff performer, scoring 18 goals and 66 points in 88 games.
Before his injury last season, Wheeler was getting the majority of his ice time on the right wing with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Even though it didn’t really work out, the Rangers didn’t have many other options. Now, it seems that Smith will get the first crack at playing on that line and he is an immediate improvement from…
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