With the Rangers who celebrate their 100th anniversary this season, we dive into our top 5 lists this summer. Because Post Lockout is my power area, when I started writing about the team, it is the Cutoff for these lists. It is best that I stick to my strengths instead of grabbing straws for an era in which I was not born and cannot really appreciate the impact. After we have looked at the 5 Best Rangers transactions in the Post Lockout era, let’s dive into the 5 worst Rangers transactions of the same era.
Honorous mention: Rangers exchange Rick Middleton to Boston for Ken Hodge
This is easily one of the worst rangers transactions of all time, but I would have problems arranging it in the top five because I just didn’t live when it happened, so I don’t know the true impact of the trade. Everything I know is Middleton became a star for the Bruins While Hodge broke out with the Rangers after a year. This is a blunder of all time.
Honorable mention: Rangers Trade Brad Park and Jean Ratelle to Boston for Phil Esposito
Another trade with Boston that I can’t really appreciate the true impact, the Rangers have traded two fan favorites for an aging eSposito. Park played 8 seasons with Boston and Ratelle Six. Espo gave the Rangers five more solid seasons before he fell from a cliff. Ratelle beat or held pace with Espo in those five seasons, but adding park was salt in the wound.
To be honest Carol Vadnais, taken over with Espo, but in four productive seasons with the Rangers. This is probably a bit better than the Middleton trade, because the production was not that far away, but Park and Ratelle should probably have retired as Rangers.
Honorous mention: Rangers exchange Sergei’s teeth and Petr Neded to Pittsburgh for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille
The trade that Mark Messier is said to have forced, sent the Rangers Zubov, an established star who already led the Rangers while scoring during their Stanley Cup year, to the penguins for aging players Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. To their honor, nor Samuelsson nor Robitaille were bad rangers, but the Rangers sent a Hall of Fame – defender and an extremely talented Nedved – who placed 99 points in its first year with the Penguins to the Penguins.
Remember that both players were 25 at the time of the trade. Samuelsson and Robitaille were older than 30. We can say that the 1994 Trade Deadline paralyzed the future of the Rangers after winning the cup, but this trade was really the nail in the coffin. But it is not a post-lock-out, so it does not make this top-five worst rangers-trading list.
Other honorable mentions for worst rangers transactions (in random order, all after the lockout)
1. Rangers act Derek Stepan/Antti Raananta for the 7th General Pick 2017 and Tony Deangelo – This was great value, it is exactly what the Rangers did with the choice and how it all turned out that it was brutal. Deangelo Opzij, the Rangers wanted to use Cale Makar or Elias Pettersson and wanted to use the 7th general to get there, but not a single little bit and they would be with Lias Andersson.
2. Rangers exchange Ryan Graves to Colorado for Chris Bigras -Graves had a solid stint as a 20-30 point defender. Bigras never played in the NHL after the trade.
3. Rangers exchange Aleksi Saarela and 2 2nd round picks to Carolina for Eric Staal – The Rangers did not need steel. They needed depth. This was a stupid trade when it was made and the Rangers are lucky that Saarela did not come out.
4. Rangers act Neal Pionk and 2019 1st round pick to Winnipeg for Jacob Trouba – This is just a bad trade because the Rangers have misunderstood what Trouba was. He was never a shutdown defender and should never have been used in that role. He is always successful with defense partners. This trade also came after the trade in Adam Fox.
5. Rangers Trade Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman to Columbus for Nik Zerdev and then Fritsche
A relatively forgotten trade is cracking our top five worst rangers transactions, simply because the Rangers gave up a solid young defender for a year Nik Zerdev. Zerdev led the Rangers in scoring during his one season, but there were far too many off -ice issues for the Rangers to ignore, to the point where they walked away from a relatively honest arbitration ruling.
Tyutin played six more solid seasons with Columbus before fading. This is less about Tyutin, because the Rangers had a lot of promising prospects ready for NHL promotion (del Zotto, Staal, Gilroy) in left -wing defense, and more about the return. For what Tyutin was and given that era of hockey, the Rangers could have received much more for Tyutin than a main issue with potential.
4. Rangers exchange Kaapo Kakko to Seattle for Will Borgen and 2 trekking choices
Kaapo Kakko might go one of the most undervalued rangers in the era after the lockout. He may not have set up 2nd general picking numbers in New York, but he was a solid three -zone player who was a borderline elite shutdown wing player. Kakko was traded for money on the dollar despite the fact that he was an unfair whip boy in the Rangers organization.
This is easily one of the worst Rangers transactions in recent memory because it stinks of Chris Drury’s tunnel vision. He had wanted Will Borgen for years and eventually found a way to land him. There were rumbling at the time of the trade where the question “that’s it is?” Was asked. It is the same question that we have asked.
The issue did not exchange in Kakko, who set up a pace of 50 points with Seattle after the trade. It was the return. Better is at best a second pair of defender. The 3rd round pick was Sean Barnhill. Samuel Jung was the 6th round pick. It was the crime not to get a top 60 pick for Kakko.
3. Rangers exchange Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller in Tampa for Libor Hajek, Brett Howden and others
Many label the Ryan McDonagh Deadline deal as one of the worst Rangers transactions of all time, and they are not wrong. You may be surprised because it is not #1 or #2, but that is because the Rangers have actually received a number of solid pieces. They just couldn’t let anyone work.
The meat of the trade was McDonagh to Tampa for Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a 1st round pick 2018 and a 2nd round pick 2019. Howden was his age-20 years in the WHL packed as a former 1st round pick in 2016. Hajek, a 2nd round pick in the same year, had a strong junior junior and had juniors and had juniors connected. The concept choices were also a good return. Unfortunately for the Rangers, neither of the prospects pledged and shot themselves in the foot by being stubborn and forcing them in ignorant positions.
The 1st round pick became Nils Lundkvist, who they exchanged a few years later to Dallas for a 1st round pick that used the Rangers to land Vlad Tarasenko. The 2nd round pick was Karl Henriksson, who did not come out.
Remember that Miller was a persona non grata at the time with the Rangers and his commercial value at best. Tampa exchanged him for only a year to Vancouver after he signed him for a five -year -old deal. Miller, who is said to be difficult to coach before landing in Vancouver, came up with it and became a top center in the competition.
2. Rangers exchange Carl Hagelin to Anaheim for Emerson Etem and 2015 2nd round pick
There are few transactions that make the entire fan base moan when it is made. Even the McDonagh trade did not have the same universal moans that the Carl Hagelin trade had. Hagelin, a favorite at fans, was part of Easy one of the worst rangers in the post -Lockout era, while Glen Sather sent him to Anaheim for Emerson Etem and a 2nd round pick on the NHL version of 2015. Sather “immediately retired” If the Rangers GM after the design.
Etem, another pick with a high ceiling that did not come out, was not good with the Rangers. After only 19 games on Broadway (3 assists), he was shipped to Vancouver for Nicklas Jensen, a defensive attacker.
The real “prize” was the second round that Ryan Gropp became. The Rangers had a tunnel vision on Gropp, which considerably benefited from playing with Mat Barzal during his concept year. Players picked in the 2nd round after Gropp: Erik Cernak, Roope Hintz, Jordan Greenway, Rasmus Andersson, Vince Dunn, Jonas Siegenthaler.
This does not get enough love as one of the worst rangers in the era after the lock, because the Rangers went into a rebuilding two years later.
1. Rangers exchange Pavel Bachnervich in St. Louis for Sammy Blais and a 2nd round pick
I tried to prevent me from making this #1 on this list of the worst rangers transactions. I really tried it. But this trade had it all: serious undervaluation of the player, horrid return, universally hated by the fan base almost immediately and a huge impact for several seasons afterwards. Even if Sammy Blais did not blow his knee and a decent enough third line player (like his ceiling), the return was just terrible.
Bachtevich was quietly the playing driver on the famous KZB line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, with a peak on 20-28-48 in 54 games in the COVID Season 2020-2021. More than 82 matches, that is a Stat-line of 30-42-70 on the top line of Rangers. It was the first major trade of Chris Drury and it was such a failure that it brought the organization years back. There is a strong argument that it cost the Rangers a real chance on a Stanley Cup because of how it took place.
The action theory was great: Move Bachnevich to give playing time to Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. Thing is, that never happened. Gerard Gallant rumbled that bag by never giving them a real chance. GM and coach were not on the same page. Instead, the Rangers tried to replace around 900 different wing players to replace Bachnevich and try to get that kind of kzb magie again, but it never happened.
The issue is not so much trading Bachnevich, it is that it 1) was very rushed and 2) not immediately necessary. There is zero truth in the argument that the Rangers needed the cap space. Even with the Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves Contracts, the Rangers had a lot of CAP room to work with. The issue is to trade for what came down to spare parts if they could have given him a one -year -old deal from arbitration and then discovered it in the middle season.
Adding Bechchertevich to the Rangers 2021-2022, the team that lost to Tampa in the Eastern Conference final, changes the landscape dramatically. Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchchnevich and Panarin-Strome/Vatrano are much, much better than what the Rangers had there, and the assets used to acquire Copp-using Copp as an example, because it cost more and the 2nd trade between him and Vatrano-Could could be used on the fourth line deepened.
Not only have the Rangers never replaced their production, but they took so many line -up decisions to try to let Kreider/Zibanejad go. Think of all the times that looked good, it was broken because they kept someone around if that duo hit a malaise. That malaise probably does not happen when Bochatevich is at the Rangers.
The actions of Bachnervich was a direct line for so many problems. It was not necessary, it was rushed and there would have been much better packages if Drury had just been patient. Easy #1 on my list of worst rangers transactions since the lockout because it had a lasting impact that was far past even 1-2 seasons later. Half a decade later, the Rangers still feel the impact.
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