The Top New York Rangers Storylines to Follow After the Trade Deadline

Marty St. Louis in, Ryan Callahan out.

The New York Rangers acquired easily the best player dealt at the NHL trade deadline and, on paper, are a better team because of the move.

Callahan served honorably as Rangers captain for two-and-a-half seasons, but there’s no argument as to who is the better player between him and St. Louis.

However, there is inherent risk in trading your captain, a first-round selection and a second-round pick for a 38-year-old with one year remaining on his contract after this season. There’s also concern over how the team will respond to its captain being shipped out—regardless of the very public contract dispute.

With the Rangers in the midst of a high-octane playoff race, it will be interesting to see how this trade affects the outcome of the season.

Here are the top three storylines to follow closest.

Will the Offense Produce More Goals?

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The Rangers have annually searched for more offense since the departure of Jaromir Jagr after the 2007-08 season.

Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and Markus Naslund couldn’t get it done, so Marian Gaborik was brought in. Gabby scored, but he was essentially a one-man offense. Glen Sather then brought in another weapon in Rick Nash, but subsequently traded Gaborik, sending the Rangers back to square one.

Enter St. Louis.

He is easily the most prolific scorer Sather has acquired since Jagr. The undrafted forward has scored 973 points in 1042 career games, has won the scoring title twice—most recently last season—and was honored as league MVP in 2003-04.

St. Louis assumes the position Callahan featured in: second-line right wing alongside Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin.

That is a serious upgrade. Callahan has scored only 254 points in 450 games and never scored more than 54 points in a single season. St. Louis’ season high for goals is 43, Callahan’s is 29.

In addition, St. Louis is reunited with Richards, whom he played alongside for seven seasons in Tampa Bay from 2000 to 2007. Over that stretch, Richards played the best hockey of his career.

All things considered, as long as the Rangers’ other lines perform similarly or better than they have this season, the Rangers will score at a greater rate for the remainder of the season. There’s no question about it.

How Much Will Callahan’s Departure Affect the Penalty Kill?

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Save for last season, the Rangers have been a top-10 penalty-killing team in the NHL since Callahan became a full-time big leaguer in 2007-08.

During that time, Callahan has solidified himself as one of the league’s top penalty-killers. In addition to his willingness to step into shooting lanes and block shots, his tenacity and defensive positioning set a standard for the Rangers.

All of the team's penalty-killers were expected to do the same.

Fortunately enough for the Rangers, some of the team’s best penalty-killers over the past five years remain with the club. Brian Boyle encompasses nearly all of the attributes Callahan does on the PK, while Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin and Dominic Moore have proven very effective in short-handed situations.

You’d have to think that Callahan's departure will have an effect on special teams.

However, the Rangers have played without Cally quite a bit since 2009-10 and a plethora of players stepped up in his absence, so there’s no reason to believe that can’t happen again—especially considering the personnel the Rangers still possess.

Nevertheless, it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.

Will Having No Captain Create Instability Within the Team?

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Head coach Alain Vigneault announced before Wednesday night’s game that the Rangers would not name a new team captain this season. The matter would be revisited in the offseason.

For now, the Rangers will roll with three assistant captains: Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Richards.

This isn’t the first time the Rangers have played without a designated captain. After Mark Messier retired following the 2003-04 season, then-coach Tom Renney decided to not elect a captain for the first season after the NHL lockout in 2005-06.

That year, the Rangers finished sixth in the Eastern Conference and were swept in the first round at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.

Now, I can understand Vigneault’s decision to not name a new or even interim captain for the remainder of the season, as it is always a difficult choice.

In this case, however, with all the drama and controversy surrounding Callahan and the magnitude of the trade, I believe it’s important to name a new captain so that everyone can move on.

Not naming a new skipper makes it seem as if Callahan is still the leader of this team. If AV cannot name a new leader, it gives the impression that he feels the trade was a mistake and/or there is nobody on the roster capable of stepping up and filling his shoes.

There’s still a lot of buzz around the team, and there’s bound to be for the remainder of the season and possibly beyond. This team needs stability and the decision to not name a new captain creates even more instability.

Hopefully, the Rangers as a group can find direction without a clear-cut on-ice general.