Grading the Top Offseason Moves for the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers have gone pretty deep into the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but they ultimately have nothing to show for it. The Blueshirts have made a number of moves in recent years in an attempt to add the final piece that would put them over the top, and it has cost draft picks and young players.

Thus far in the 2015 offseason the Blueshirts have been pretty active, and the team was forced to move some valuable players due to a cap crunch. Over the next few weeks the team will look to ink the remaining restricted free agents, and doing so could prove to be quite the challenge.

New York appears to be in a holding pattern for the time being; here's a look at the top moves thus far into the offseason.

Trade of Carl Hagelin

The Rangers were active on the second day of the NHL draft, and the move that received the most attention was a deal involving Carl Hagelin. 

Here is how the deal with the Anaheim Ducks breaks down:

To  Rangers

• Emerson Etem and 41^st Overall

To Ducks

• Carl Hagelin, 59^th Overall and 179^th Overall

The Rangers were going to have a tough time re-signing Hagelin, so they decided to deal him and two draft picks for a young player with upside and a higher second-round pick.  The Hockey News describes Etem as "a talented scoring winger with good upside," and as a 23-year-old he can become a part of the Rangers' developing youth core.

Grade: B-

Initially this trade can look like it is a loss because Hagelin was a proven performer who contributed in a number of areas. He was good for about 30 points a season and was a pretty good goal scorer. Hagelin tallied 17 goals in 2014-15 and 2013-14, an impressive stat for someone who played on the third line.

The Rangers made out pretty well when you consider they lacked financial flexibility. It is easy to say they should have gotten a better player in return, but it isn’t always that simple.

In all likelihood Hagelin probably could have garnered a little more in return, but the returning player would have made the same amount or slightly less than him, thereby defeating the purpose of gaining cap space.

Hagelin will be missed, but Etem has the potential to be a dynamic top-six winger at the height of his career.

Trade of Cam Talbot

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There were a number of rumors heading into the draft of the offers teams had made for Cam Talbot, and Frank Seravalli of TSN went as far to say that New York was offered a first-round pick.

Fans waited with anticipation throughout the first round, but they ultimately were left disappointed. The following day Talbot was shipped out of town, and this Goal Buster is headed to Edmonton, where he hopes to help extinguish the ghosts of Oilers past in the final season Rexall Place will be open.

Here's what the deal looked like:

To Rangers

• 57^th Overall, 79^th Overall and 184^th Overall

To Oilers

• Cam Talbot and 209^th Overall

This return can be considered average, but the Blueshirts were able to flip some of this return, notably the No. 57 pick in a deal that moved them down to No. 62 overall, where they selected gifted forward Robin Kovacs from Sweden. 

Grade: C+

I debated giving this a B-, but it appears general manager emeritus Glen Sather overplayed his hand. Regardless, Sather effectively was able to deal an undrafted backup who developed into a player who could be a No. 1 netminder. Talbot's age on contractual status inherently hurt his value, so he didn't command a Robin Lehner-like return.

Trade for Antti Raanta

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The Rangers needed a backup netminder after dealing Cam Talbot, and the franchise acquired one of the better ones on the market for a very low price.

Hours after dealing Talbot, the Blueshirts dealt AHL forward Ryan Haggerty to the Chicago Blackhawks for backup Antti Raanta.

Grade: A

Raanta became the odd man out due to the rise of Scott Darling, and there simply wasn't room at the inn for him. He has the potential to be a very good backup for 15 to 20 games behind Henrik Lundqvist, and goalie guru Benoit Allaire will work his magic to make the ex-Blackhawk even better than he already is.

The 26-year-old went 7-4-1 with a .936 save percentage and a 1.89 goals-against average in 2014-15 and is 20-9-5 with a .912 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average in 39 career games. Haggerty was a solid NCAA player who was in his rookie year with the Hartford Wolf Pack, and he wasn't going to crack the Blueshirts roster in 2015-16.

Signing of Viktor Stalberg

The Rangers were not expected to be major players in free agency, but they did sign Viktor Stalberg, who last played for the Nashville Predators. Stalberg was one of many players who capitalized on winning a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks and subsequently signed a major deal in free agency.

The 6'3" winger wasn't as dynamic in Nashville, and his contract was bought out prior to the start of free agency.

Grade: B+

This signing in many ways is similar to when the Rangers signed Benoit Pouliot. The book on Pouliot was that he was a speedy winger with size, but was inconsistent. Pouliot proved to be a nice fit for Alain Vigneault, and there's a good chance Stalberg will take residence on the third or fourth line this season.

The deal is only for $1.1 million, and there is a minimal amount of risk associated with it.

Promotion of Jeff Gorton

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Jeff Gorton and Gordie Clark

Over the past few season,s a number of teams requested permission to interview then-assistant general manager Jeff Gorton. Each time access was denied, and it had been long rumored that Gorton was going to succeed Glen Sather as general manager.

Gorton has been running the show for quite some time now, but the team finally made it official. Things won't change dramatically, which was indicated during his first media session as general manager. 

Via Larry Brooks of the New York Post: “I would say that there is not a lot changing," Gorton said on a conference call, “other than I will have the final decision on players.”

Grade: A

Gorton is a brilliant hockey man who will get to make the necessary changes when he has flexibility. Sather had a penchant for employing enforcers, and I have a hunch that Gorton isn't as fond of exclusive pugilists.

He had a major impact in Boston by trading for Tuukka Rask, signing Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard, and by acquiring Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand in the first three rounds of the NHL draft.

Brooks mentioned that Gorton has been instrumental in recent years for the Rangers, and "it includes the drafting of current Rangers Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast and J.T. Miller, as well as the trades that brought back Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash and Derick Brassard."

Overall

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So far the Blueshirts downgraded from Carl Hagelin to Emerson Etem,  broke even in the dealing of Cam Talbot by adding Antti Raanta and made a solid signing in Viktor Stalberg.

From a managerial standpoint, there should be excitement with Jeff Gorton getting a shot at running the ship, because he's got a pretty nice track record when it comes to making an impact on a team.

The Rangers additionally made some depth signings that include Raphael Diaz, Jayson Megna, Matt Lindblad and Brian Gibbons, and many of them should see some time in Hartford.

Grade: B-

Thus far it is hard to fault the Rangers for what they have done considering their lack of funds, and if they can retain their remaining restricted free agents they should be in decent enough shape for the upcoming season.

Derek Stepan will be the toughest one to crack, but it will be worth it because he is the team's best overall center by far.

Stats via Hockey-Reference and financial information via General Fanager unless otherwise noted.