On June 22nd Gorton holds the future of the Rangers for the next decade in his hands. Reading some of the mock drafts and every one predicts the Rangers selecting a different player at #9. Gorton;'s lack of a hockey background serves him well as he can see the value of a 6'2 220lb prospect over a little guy with a big heart. Of the guys dealt before the deadline Grabner is the only one I want back, leave those spots for youth.
He should do everything he can to move up to 4th or 5th if Tkachuk is there. If that means trading the 9th and Buchnevich or Skjei, do it. Both Ottawa and Phoenix need a defenseman. Mostly young, NHL ready. Skjei fits the bill. I like him a lot. However, this team needs a franchise, tough forward to build around. They just traded for 3 lefty dmen at the deadline. I would then try to package Spooner, Namestnikov and the 26th to move up to 15 with Florida. They won't want that pick. They will try to make the playoffs next year. They need to get deeper at forward. Those 2 guys fit perfect there for roles. What would be even better would be if they they could deal Spooner, Namestnikov and Staal at half retained and the 26th for the 10th overall and seleced Veleno. Edmonton is a disgrace. Their forward core blows. They have NO DEPTH. Staal would be a huge upgrade for their sorry ass defense. Hopefully, he would go there. They have made it known they are shopping that pick.
Even if they stay at 9 they can add to a growing pool of D prospects with Dobson, Hughes or Bouchard. I would then maybe trade 26/30/Zucc or Spooner/3rd or prospect and try and get up to 12-15 for someone like Veleno or Farrabee.
Rangers should be able to trade up quite easily in this draft. Edmonton and Florida will have little to no interest in their first rounders. Florida wants to go deep in the playoffs next year. Edmonton simply can't afford to miss the playoffs with a player like McDavid. It's pathetic. They need players that can play right now. It's amazing they have such little depth considering all the high picks they had.
Staal has to go, steady defense isn't worth $5.7 and his contract goes until '20-'21, one of many terrible resignings by Glen. I would move Hank too if possible, don't see that happening as few teams can afford him but with the backup options (Georgiev $925K, Nell $925K, and Halverson $894K ) making so little, Gorton would have a lot of cash to find a cheaper alternative with room for FAs. Zucc's in the last year of his contract, no way I'd trade him when he's playing for his next paycheck and $4.5 is more than reasonable for a guy who's been a top scorer. It's hard to evaluate the rest of the defensive squad because AV's philosophy was so inept, constantly put defensemen in impossible situations to succeed clearing the puck and punishing players for being physical. No player on the defensive unit had a great year, that's on the coach along with allowing 40+ shots per game but Smith $4.35 needs a major rebound season and a healthy Shatt $6.7 needs to earn that money. DeAngelo needs to move to RW, his small frame can't take the punishment of guys 6"+ and 50 lbs heavier forechecking him. He can run the point on the PP.
