When the NHL roster freeze ended Thursday afternoon, it was quieter than anticipated, however the Rangers had been one of some groups to make selections forward of the 2021 entry draft that begins Friday night time.
The Rangers introduced a six-year cope with gritty ahead Barclay Goodrow, whom the group acquired from the Lightning lower than every week earlier in trade for a 2022 seventh-round decide. Considering how energetic Chris Drury has been this offseason, together with his transfer to unload Brett Howden to Vegas this previous weekend, it feels as if the Rangers’ new president and common supervisor is working towards one thing larger.
Additionally, the Rangers plan to maneuver on from veteran defenseman Brendan Smith, in accordance with The Publish’s Larry Brooks. Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent after 5 seasons in a depth function.
Whereas Drury continues to form the Blueshirts’ lineup forward of the 2021-22 season, the draft presents a slew of alternatives. The Rangers maintain 9 picks, the fifteenth general choice within the Friday’s opening spherical and eight extra in Rounds 2-7 on Saturday.
As tight-lipped as Drury was throughout his pre-expansion draft media availability, he made it recognized the Rangers entrance workplace is leaving no stone unturned with regards to choices to make the group higher. A kind of choices is definitely using that first-round decide.
“That’s a bit we now have,” Drury mentioned Monday. “If we are able to make the group higher with shifting that decide — or one other decide or gamers — we’ll take a look at the whole lot.”
Since hypothesis is thru the roof on the potential of Drury crafting a package deal deal that appeases the Sabres’ absurd asking value for vexed star heart Jack Eichel, the Rangers’ No. 15 decide (which is listed as 16 due to the Coyotes’ forfeited choice) is assured to be a part of the equation.
In line with Brooks, nevertheless, the Rangers have nonetheless not acquired entry to Eichel’s medical information.
The Rangers have one first-round decide, two third-rounders, three within the fourth spherical and one in every of the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.
Final yr’s draft was the beginning of the Rangers’ goal to develop into “tougher to play towards,” and that mantra is predicted to drive their participant choices once more. Former GM Jeff Gorton proved that bulking up was a precedence when he traded up on two separate events in 2020, within the first spherical for 6-foot-2 defenseman Braden Schneider (No. 19) and within the second for 6-3 winger William Cuylle (No. 60).
The Rangers didn’t take a middle final yr till the third spherical, however it’s now the clear place that wants strengthening. Filip Chytil is the franchise’s solely heart draftee who performed a serious function on the group final season. Morgan Barron, who performed in 5 video games in 2020-21, is on the cusp of breaking onto the scene full time, and the Cornell product is predicted to get some seems to be on the wing.
At No. 15, the consensus top-three facilities of the 2021 draft — Matthew Beniers, Kent Johnson and Mason McTavish — most likely gained’t be out there to the Rangers.
Aatu Räty out of the Finnish Liiga, Russian Fyodor Svechkov and Cole Sillinger of the USHL usually tend to be there. There’s additionally ahead Matthew Coronato, who is understood for his arms and is coming off an 85-point season with the Chicago Metal within the USHL. The New York native is dedicated to Harvard for the 2021-22 season, as Adam Fox was when he was drafted in 2016.
At 6-2, 185 kilos, Räty suits the big-bodied pattern the Rangers are on within the draft. He’s thought of a flexible ahead, however his inventory went down after he struggled to provide for the Finnish Liiga’s Karpat final season. Svechkov is a defensive-minded heart with an amazing upside, which could possibly be engaging to the Rangers. In 2020-21, Sillinger put up huge numbers for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede with 46 factors (24 targets, 22 assists) in simply 31 video games. The Columbus, Ohio, native’s wrist shot is described by EliteProspects as “potent,” and he’s thought of to be a real offensive risk.
