LETTER 2.0 UPDATE
In the seven days since the Letter 2.0 was released, the New York Rangers have given us one win, two losses, and hundreds of trade rumors. All that we know for sure is that Artemi Panarin will will be wearing a different uniform next fall.
We acknowledge that the deservedly embattled GM Chris Drury has a big job in front of him — but it’s made easier knowing he is starting with a 1A and 1B center, a former Norris Trophy defenseman, a first pair shut-down defenseman, and a former Vezina Trophy goalie.
Meanwhile, we will watch increasingly meaningless hockey games while awaiting the fates of the players likely on the trading block — Alexis Lafreniere, Panarin, Taylor Raddysh, Braden Schneider, Conor Sheary, Carson Soucy, and Vincent Trocheck.
As we wait for the next skate to drop, let’s take a look back at the Letter 1.0
LETTER 1.0 RETROSPECTIVE
Prior to the original letter being sent on February 8, 2018, the Rangers made the playoffs 11 times in the previous 12 seasons. They were only three points out of a playoff spot, however, they had multiple players on expiring contracts, and were running extremely low on prospects due to dealing away their first-round pick each year from 2013 to 2016.
Let’s review the biggest moves the Rangers made during their 17-month rebuild from February 8, 2018 through July 1, 2019.
We’ll grade each with a simple — GREAT, GOOD, OK, or BAD.
1-20-18
Rangers traded D Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins for D Rob O’Gara and a 2018 third-round pick. OK — O’Gara played 22 games with the Rangers down the stretch in 2018, and then spent the next season with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Rangers drafted D Joey Keane with the pick, who they eventually dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes for F Julien Gauthier who played 131 games with Rangers.
2-22-18
Rangers traded F Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils for a 2018 second-round pick and D Yegor Rykov. OK — Rykov played in 27 games with Hartford before returning to the KHL where he still plays today. The second-round pick was packaged with the first round pick the Rangers receive in the Rick Nash deal (below) to move up to select K’Andre Miller.
2-25-18
Rangers traded F Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins for F Ryan Spooner, F Matt Beleskey, D Ryan Lindgren, a 2018 first-round pick, and a 2019 seventh-round pick. GREAT — This trade landed the two of their Top 4 defensemen for their runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024. They acquired Lindgren directly, and K’Andre Miller indirectly (see above). Plus, as you will see below, they also benefitted from dealing Spooner the following fall.
2-26-18
Rangers traded D Ryan McDonagh and C J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning for F Vladislav Namestnikov, F Brett Howden, D Libor Hajek, a 2018 first-round pick, and a conditional 2019 draft pick. BAD — There was no need to make this trade. Neither McDonagh nor Miller were on expiring contracts like Grabner, Holden, and Nash. There was no pressure to trade either player.
The Rangers thought McDonagh was wearing down, but 8 years and 2 Stanley Cups later he just signed a three-year contract extension with the Lightning. The Rangers were concerned that the immature Miller would never grow up, but after seeing him evolve into a top center and leader with the Vancouver Canucks, they paid big last year in picks and prospects to get him to return to be their captain.
Simply put, the biggest trade of the Letter 1.0 Era was an unforced error.
Meanwhile, Namestnikov bounced around the league for a few years but has been a staple in the Winnipeg Jets lineup since 2022, while Hajek played just 110 games with the Rangers before returning to the Czech league. Rather than leaving Howden unprotected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, the Rangers dealt him to the Vegas Golden Knights where he has won a Stanley Cup. On the bright side, the = Rangers received a draft pick that became current Rangers’ rookie C Noah Laba.
The 2018 first rounder was used on D Nils Lundkvist, who was dealt to the Dallas Stars for a first-round pick. Unfortunately, Drury dealt that pick away in 2023 as part of the package to the St. Louis Blues for two-month rentals Niko Mikkola and Vladimir Tarasenko. Finally, the conditional pick was used on C Karl Henriksson who played 134 games in Hartford before returning to Europe.
11-16-18
Rangers acquired F Ryan Strome from the Edmonton Oilers for F Ryan Spooner. GOOD — Since Spooner was acquired in the Nash trade, this move elevates the Nash trade to the best of the 1.0 era.
1-18-19
Rangers acquired D Darren Raddysh from the Chicago Blackhawks for F Peter Holland. GOOD — I only include this because Raddysh has been revelation this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 29-year-old is the ultimate late bloomer, winning a regular job in 2023-24 and becoming a borderline All-Star this season (42 points in 42 games). Unfortunately, the Rangers he never played a game for the Rangers while spending parts of three seasons with Hartford.
1-23-19
New York Rangers traded F Mats Zuccarello to the Dallas Stars for a conditional 2019 second-round pick and a conditional 2020 third-round pick. BAD — This might have been the most perplexing deal during the Letter 1.0 Era. Zuccarello was an impending free agent, but he wanted to stay with the Rangers and ended up signing with the Minnesota Wild at a reasonable price. He was still only 31 at the time of the trade. Eight years later, he’s still producing, putting up 26 points in his first 31 games this season. In addition to his production, Zuccarello continues to play with the passion that has often been missing in the Rangers lineup. IMHO — this was another unforced error.
The Rangers drafted D Matthew Robertson with the second-round pick, and C Oliver Tarnstrom with the third rounder. Robertson has earned a regular bottom pair role this season while Tarnstrom is still playing in Europe.
1-25-19
Rangers traded C Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets for F Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 first-round pick, and a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick. GOOD— The Rangers received good value for pending free agent Hayes. Lemieux showed promise before flaming out and the 2019 pick ended up back in Winnipeg as part of the Jacob Trouba deal (outlined below).
1-25-19
Rangers traded D Adam McQuaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets for D Julius Bergman, a 2019 fourth-round pick, and a 2019 seventh-round pick. OK — While it’s a very good return for a veteran depth defenseman, the fact that Bergman, D Hunter Skinner (4th round selection), and F Eric Ciccolini (7th round) have played one NHL game combined, we reduced it to just a good try.
4-30-19
Rangers acquired D Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2019 second-round pick and a conditional 2020 third-round pick. GREAT — In fairness to one of the most respected organizations in hockey, Fox and his family didn’t give Carolina much choice. He threatened to stay in college for another year to become an unrestricted college free agent unless he was dealt to his favorite team.
6-17-19
Rangers acquired Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets for Neal Pionk and a 2019 first-round pick. GOOD — I downgraded from “great” to “good” based on the way that Trouba’s tenure in New York ended, and the fact that Pionk is still playing top 4 minutes in Winnipeg. But revisionist historians aside, the Rangers don’t reach the Eastern Conference Finals twice without the Trouba Train leading the way.
7-1-19
After trading for Fox and Trouba, the Rangers officially ended the 17-month Letter 1.0 rebuilding era by signing Artemi Panarin to a 7-year, $81.5m contract. GREAT — Almost seven years after the best free agent signing in Rangers’ history, we have come full circle.
LETTER 1.0 LESSONS LEARNED
Chris Drury has been a member of the Rangers’ front office since September, 2015. He had a front-row seat when former GM Jeff Gorton navigated the post Letter 1.0 era.
He knows the Rangers had success when dealing pending free agents that didn’t fit into the team’s culture or timeline. He also should realize that they dealt McDonagh, Miller, and Zuccarello for underwhelming returns. As a result, when they were ready to compete again, they had to fork over assets to fill the void with rentals like Patrick Kane, Jack Roslovic, Reilly Smith, Tarasenko, Blake Wheeler, and Frank Vatrano.
Drury has already sold off a handful of players — Barclay Goodrow, Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren, Trouba, and Jimmy Vesey — for pennies on the dollar.
He will not be around for the Letter 3.0 if he doesn’t reverse that trend.
LET’S SEE IF THESE RANGERS HAVE ANY FIGHT LEFT
As discussed above, our attention is on the transaction wire, not on the ice. However, Monday night is a game to watch. The Boston Bruins will come in to Madison Square just 16 days after embarrassing the Rangers 10-2 in front of a National TV audience. It is very possible that Drury started chatting with GPT immediately after that game to craft the Letter 2.0.
Here’s what we do know — every Ranger player should be ready to play on Monday night. If you can’t get up for this revenge game, you probably don’t fit the profile of what the Rangers are looking for moving forward.