Coyotes all in, Rangers fold

[yave1964]

A series of trades:

 

The Rangers surprised pretty much everyone by trading Derek Stepan and Aanti Raanta to the Coyotes, receiving back young Anthony DeAngelo and the 'Yotes first pick in the draft, the 7th overall.

 

  Then they traded a couple of kids for experienced stay at home Hjalmarsson from the Hawks. 

 

There clear number one need was a top line center, Stepan is a solid no frills 55-60 point a year guy who does not take shifts off.

Check.

 

They needed a stay at home defenseman to pair with Ekman-Larsson to allow OEL to roam and quit trying to do too much.

Check.

 

With the trade of Mike Smith they needed a number one goalie. Raanta has put up solid number in Chicago and with the Rangers and deserves a chance to see if he is full time starter material.

Check.

 

Of the three Raanta is the one whom I would be the most nervous about, it is one thing to put up great numbers with an elite or near elite team, it is another to put up said numbers with a lower level club.

 

As for the rangers:

 

Losing Stepan hurts especially after losing Brassard last year. They have a ton of wingers but are short of true centers. The dealing of Stepan is curious to the extreme.

 

 Losing Raanta is big but he is replaceable.

 

The addition of DeAngelo is probably nothing, he was a bust in Tampa and really did not do much in Arizona in his one year playing bottom pair minutes and splitting time between Arizona and the AHL. In 39 games he was a minus 13 and got turned around pretty easily.

 

  I wrote in the Rangers article that their window was closed and if it was still cracked a little this deal finished it off. They do have the number 7 pick and are clearly targeting someone but there is too little here any more to think of the Rangers as anything more than likely first round out.