The Rangers made two moves before the trade deadline and none on deadline day itself. Naturally the Rangers activity was headlined by the team acquiring former Hurricane Eric Staal. So how did the Rangers do at the deadline day?
Rangers acquire Eric Staal
The Rangers gave up no roster players and gave up no first round draft picks for Eric 
Staal. They got the Canes to retain 50% of the players remaining salary. In all, for a player of Staal’s reputation and hockey CV, the Rangers did well to ‘only’ part with 2 second round draft picks and 2015 draftee Aleksi Saarela.
With that said, the Rangers gave up two more early round picks. At some point this tendency will come back to haunt the Rangers. Saarela was starting to look like a 3rd round steal the longer the season progressed. Saarela was playing great hockey in Finland looks a legitimate prospect. The impact of this deal will only be truly known when Saarela has had a chance to impact at the NHL level and the picks will have been made.
The Rangers got the best player in the deal, of course. However Staal is a declining player. With 10 goals, a career low shooting percentage and on course for under 50 points Staal is hitting almost career low numbers across the board. Some of that is down to being on a downright bad team in Carolina and maybe Staal can produce with better players in New York. That’s certainly the hope.
He’s no longer a 100 point player, he may never score 30 goals in a season again and it’s debatable whether his mobility (or increasing lack of it) will be a problem for whoever gets Staal beyond this summer. But here’s the thing: Staal is a notable presence up front, he makes the Rangers bigger, deeper and better for the stretch run and no team in the East can (in theory) boast a center depth that the Rangers now have. He’s also a point per game playoff performer.
As most ‘rentals’ are, this move will really be judged by how far the acquiring team (so, in this case the Rangers) go in the playoffs but for now, the Rangers are a much better team at what seems like a sensible cost. Eric Staal could be a point per game player for the Rangers if he hits the ground running.
Rangers swap minor leaguers
The Ray Ryan Bourque era in New York is over, before it ever began. Whether he ever had a real shot at making the Rangers, or had ever even earned an extended shot from the team, once intriguing prospect Ryan Bourque was sent to the Capitals franchise for fellow minor league Chris Brown.
Bourque’s play in the AHL never forced the Rangers into giving him a legitimate chance in a depth role but his skill set, (obvious) hockey pedigree and occasional bursts of play for Hartford often suggested more. What makes this move odd is that it appears change for changes sake. Brown has somewhat more NHL experience (23 games total, to Bourque’s one) but doesn’t appear a legitimate NHL prospect, especially given the Rangers depth up front in the short to mid term.
Brown may have a somewhat higher offensive ceiling at the AHL level and more size, but neither player offers either club much cause for optimism. Can a change of scenery really make that much of a difference?
Summing up the Rangers (in)activity
Should the Rangers’ deadline be judged by their (and the league’s) lack of activity? Did the team show admirable restraint on a day of surprisingly few moves, or did they miss out on low cost, potentially high reward options such as Brandon Pirri (just a 6th was needed for the Ducks to acquire him)?
Could the Rangers have added a former employee such as rental option P.A. Parenteau (who shockingly didn’t get traded by the clearly tanking Maple Leafs); Parenteau being a player who could have helped the powerplay and give the team unparalled depth up front and who was someone who surely wouldn’t have cost much more than a mid round draft pick?
Throwing out potential names in retrospect is an easy writing exercise and at some point a team has to retain some of its draft picks. A team needs to keep at least one eye on the future but once the Rangers decided to go for Eric Staal and give up yet more early round draft picks a nagging feeling is felt that they should have gone ‘all in’ (relatively speaking) when the cost to do business was never lower for a trade deadline day.
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