Beyond the fact that the Rangers are not close enough to serious Stanley Cup contention to merit sending a blue chip or two away in exchange for a rental, even for one such as Tomas Hertl who might create a dramatic impact, there is another reason for Chris Drury to be conservative as the president-general manager approaches his first trade deadline.
That is because if Ryan Strome does not sign an extension by March 21, the Blueshirts are going to need all those chips over the summer to trade for a second-line center, with both Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele and Vancouver’s Bo Horvat primary targets and Chicago’s Kirby Dach a secondary person of interest.
There is no indication the parties are close to an agreement, though deadlines have a way of clarifying matters. If Strome remains a pending free agent past next Monday, chances are he will be gone. If No. 16 has a strong stretch run and playoffs, the asking price that management has not yet met would presumably rise. If he stumbles, why would the Rangers want to keep him at any price?
There has been an ongoing top-six vacancy on the right side. The third line essentially has to be created from scratch over the summer. But if Strome departs, this pending organizational cavity in the middle behind Mika Zibanejad stands to become a sinkhole that will swallow the entire operation, Igor Shesterkin or not.
Drury needs to bide his time and keep his best tradable assets for a rainy day. And by the way, if Scheifele or Horvat were available now, it would be worth a slight overpay to keep them off an expanded summer market and get something done before the deadline.
On a 24-and-under Team New York-New Jersey, who’s your first-line center, Jack Hughes or Mathew Barzal?
And how scary would it be in New Jersey if Luke Hughes, setting records as a freshman on the blue line at Michigan, turns out to be the best of the brood?
The Maple Leafs, who have the NHL’s worst five-on-five save percentage since Dec. 7 at .885 and the fourth-worst overall at .882 over that span, are looking for their version of the 2006 Dwayne Roloson.
Roloson, then 36, was having an average season in net for the non-playoff Wild when he was traded at the deadline to the Oilers. The rest of the regular season was average enough, but Roloson then went on a roll in the postseason, elevating eight-seed Edmonton to the Cup final before it lost in seven games to Carolina.
That represents an exception to the rule under which late-season trades of goaltenders don’t work out as planned. Exhibit A, of course, is St. Louis’ 2014 rental of Ryan Miller from Buffalo, and by the way, Miller should be included among non-Cup winning goaltenders who merit serious Hall of Fame consideration.
That is what the Maple Leafs, whose organizational credibility rests on the team’s ability to win a playoff round for the first time since 2004, must find before the deadline. It won’t be easy for GM Kyle Dubas, but it is all but impossible to believe Toronto is going to place its currency on Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek in net.
Henrik Lundqvist to Igor Shesterkin represents a royal line of goaltending succession, there is no doubt about that. But there has never been anything like the relay in Montreal, where the Canadiens had a Hall of Famer in net for all but two seasons for the 45-year stretch between 1954-55 and 1978-79.
There was Jacques Plante from 1954-55 through 1962-63, after which he was traded to the Rangers for a package including Hall of Famer Gump Worsley. When Worsley was injured early in 1963-64, he was replaced by Charlie Hodge through the middle of the following year. Hodge was not a Hall of Famer. So 1963-64 was a one-year exception.
Worsley reclaimed the net after being recalled in 1964-65, teamed with Hodge for two years before acting in tandem with Hall of Famer Rogie Vachon through 1968-69 (Tony Esposito played 13 games for Montreal as a 1968-69 injury fill-in, giving the Habs three Hall of Famers in net). Vachon then turned it over in the 1971 playoffs to Hall of Famer Ken Dryden, who took a one-year sabbatical in 1973-74. That marked the second exception.
Dryden resumed his career the following season, retiring after a fourth straight Cup in 1979. Thus, 43 out of 45 seasons with Plante, Worsley, Vachon and Dryden.
Snapshot. Elite Eight: 1. Colorado; 2. Calgary; 3. Florida; 4. Carolina; 5. Tampa Bay; 6. St. Louis; 7. Pittsburgh; 8. Toronto.
Maybe the fact Auston Matthews can’t seem to get a call from the officials explains why the league’s best player seems to always have a scowl on his public face, but I doubt it.
Talking about numbers that merit retirement, I guess I’d be partial to Jim Schoenfeld’s No. 6 joining the handful of honorees in Buffalo.
Terry Pegula, owner of the Sabres and Bills, whose real time net worth was estimated at $5.7 billion by Forbes on Saturday, apparently is in line to receive $1 billion in public funding for a new football stadium.
This probably means that it will only be a matter of time before he starts laying off more people who work for the hockey team.
Having recovered from back issues that had kept him on injured reserve all season, Montreal defenseman Joel Edmundson was set to make his debut Saturday, giving the hierarchy a week to showcase the 28-year-old, who has two more seasons remaining on his contract at an annual $3.5 million cap hit.
Former GM Marc Bergevin sure didn’t do the Canadiens’ current hierarchy any favors by leaving bottom-sixer Joel Armia behind with another three years on his contract at an average annual value of $3.4 million.
Finally, I’m just sorry that Jack Eichel didn’t tell us what he really feels about Buffalo.