Throughout last season, the New York Rangers were among the busiest teams in the trade market as general manager Chris Drury attempted to remake his struggling roster. Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kaako, and Ryan Lindgren were among the notables moved out, while JT Miller, Will Borgen, and Carson Soucy were brought in.
That trade activity carried over into the offseason. On June 12, he shipped out long-time scoring winger Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks. Over two weeks later, he sent defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1.
Drury also made one of the summer’s biggest free-agent signings. On July 1, he inked former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $7 million.
The Rangers sat fifth in the Metropolitan Division after seven games (3-3-1) but also with the second-lowest goals per game average (2.14). Part of that can be attributed to their adjustment to new head coach Mike Sullivan, but losing Kreider’s goal scoring and Miller’s puck-moving skills was a contributing factor.
Meanwhile, Gavrikov admitted to reporters that he’s struggled to adjust to his new club and with Adam Fox, his partner on their top defense pairing. Sullivan believes the duo is a work in progress and should improve over time, but if it doesn’t, the Rangers could have a costly mistake on their hands.
