Rangers' Trade-Deadline Gamble Comes Up Empty As Season Ends in Bitter Disappointment

Let's get one thing out of the way: The Rangers shouldn't necessarily regret their 2022-23 trade deadline, which was the biggest splash of any NHL team in recent memory. But it didn't get the job done.

New York went in big and acquired star veterans Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. They added solid depth in Tyler Motte and Niko Mikkola. The moves were prudent, and the Rangers didn't give really give up that much.

GM Chris Drury got a (once) generational player with ample postseason experience in Kane without giving up a first-rounder or a top prospect. He got perennial sniper and Cup champion Tarasenko, and Mikkola, for only one of the Rangers' two first-round picks at the time, a 2024 third-rounder, Sammy Blais and Hunter Skinner. The prices were too good to pass up.

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But as the clock ran out on a lifeless Rangers team Monday and the Devils took Game 7 4-0, your mind immediately went to the lack of elite, playoff-level elevation from the trade-deadline acquisitions and other star players. This is a team that had much bigger aspirations than just making the playoffs. For the season to end with a series loss to a younger, faster and hungrier rival team like the Devils, it had to sting badly.

Kane was extremely disappointing in particular when the Rangers needed him most, scoring zero goals, zero points and posting a minus-one in Game 7, and only scoring one goal in the seven-game series. Whether it was the reported hip injury that limited him throughout the season or the lack of chemistry the 34-year-old had with his linemates, the soon-to-be free agent fell far short of the "Showtime" moniker he earned winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks.

Like the rest of the Rangers, Tarasenko started off great as the team took a 2-0 series lead and it felt like the young Devils were already toast. He scored the first goal of the series quickly in Game 1, but he'd only end up with four points (three goals and an assist) in seven games. He was virtually invisible at best during the Rangers' losses, and his worst game was the most important one of all—he posted a minus-three in Game 7.

And don't get us started on the power play. After Chris Kreider feasted in front of the net in the first two games of the series, the goals with the man advantage dried up with the Devils making adjustments. Mind you, this is a team that boasts Adam Fox, one of the league's best power-play quarterbacks; Artemi Panarin, a premier playmaker; and Mika Zibanejad, armed with a lethal one-timer. When you add elite talent like Tarasenko and Kane, you'd expect them to do well. It's mind-blowing that they couldn't get it together.

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To be fair, it wasn't all on New York's trade-deadline acquisitions. You almost forgot Panarin was even on the team during the series, ending with two assists and a minus-two rating through seven games. Budding star defenseman K'Andre Miller didn't look like the confident player he's grown into, with especially brutal giveaways in Game 7. Even Fox wasn't immune, making a critical error that led to the opening goal on Monday night.

But hey, it's not like the major trade-deadline acquisitions on either side shifted the balance of the series. New Jersey's big deadline acquisition, Timo Meier was held scoreless throughout the series and was then forced to leave the game after a trademark crunching hit from Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.

The difference? The Devils' young core, already the fastest team in the playoffs, grew confident and became stronger throughout the series. Jack Hughes is emerging as the next American hockey star, with consequential plays and goals in almost every game this series. Meanwhile, the veterans on the Rangers just didn't have the legs to keep up in the footrace. This isn't your mother or father's NHL anymore, and you need young legs to keep up with the grind that is a seven-game series.

It's like the Rangers stocked up at the deadline to prepare for tough, heavy hockey that never really happened. And when the power play that had been clicking in the first two games went silent, the Devils' consistent five-on-five play took over.

You also need to hand it to Devils rookie goaltender Akira Schmid. He won four out of the five games he started in since debuting in Game 3, posting two shutouts and a .951 save percentage.

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What did we learn here, folks? You don't need to regret going all-in at the trade deadline—especially when the price is right. But superstars aren't everything. In fact, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant lamented the fact that he couldn't get his team to forecheck the way the Devils were able to throughout the series.

His counterpart, Lindy Ruff, agreed.

Would any team love to have Tarasenko and Kane as part of their top six forwards? Sure. Is playoff experience important? Yes. But the Devils-Rangers series might have shown us that the experience and veteran star power come playoff time might be overblown. The game is trending in a younger, faster direction, and the Rangers are left holding the L, wondering what happens next in an uncertain offseason.