Making Sense out of the Stepan/Raanta Trade

Yesterday, the New York Rangers elected to trade both center Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. For the Rangers, the move marked the first significant step in an effort to get younger, while the Coyotes have continued their journey in adding game-changing faces to their roster.

Stepan, now 27, was a second-round pick by the Rangers in the 2008 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in 2010, and quickly emerged as a star center for the Rangers organization. Still entering the prime of his career, Stepan is a lock for 50-plus points each year and has been seen as a solid two-way player with the capability of improving his linemates play. The Minnesota native will finish his Rangers tenure with 360 career points, including 128 goals and 232 assists.

“We are thrilled to acquire Derek,” Coyotes GM John Chayka said in a statement. “Our organization has been searching for a true number one center for over a decade and we are confident that he can be that for us.”

With Raanta, the Coyotes are getting themselves a goaltender with a nice track record. The 28-year old played in two seasons with the Rangers, putting up a combined 27-14-4 record with a .921% SV%, 2.26 GAA, and five shutouts. Arizona currently has Louis Domingue between the pipes, but the addition of Raanta may boot the 25-year old Quebec native to the curb.

It is easy it understand why Ranger fans would be upset over this trade. The team has dealt away Stepan, a home-grown, fan-favorite player, and Raanta, once seen as the successor to Henrik Lundqvist, for an unknown player and a draft pick. In DeAngelo, New York has a talented 21-year old defenseman, but he has been known to have “attitude issues.” As an organization that prides itself in avoiding off-the-ice drama, the Rangers will do what they can to stop this trend from continuing.

DeAngelo, a New Jersey native, has been pegged with incredible offensive ability, but struggled in his rookie season. In 39 games, he attained 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) with a minus-13 rating. Nevertheless, he will be given an excellent opportunity in New York to get his career going, as the team is currently thin on viable defensive options.

With the seventh-overall pick, the Rangers selected Lias Andersson, an 18-year old center from Sweden. If the last name sounds familiar, it is because he has hockey blood in his veins. His father, Niklas Andersson, played for five NHL teams, including the cross-town rival Islanders in the 1990’s. The pick was the Rangers highest in the draft since they took goalie Al Montoya in the No. 6 spot in 2004. Also, the last time New York made a first-round pick was in 2012 when they selected Brady Skjei.

Overall, this move was all about offloading salary for the Rangers. Between Stepan and Raanta, the franchise shed roughly $20 million in future payroll obligations, and could now use that money to chase after players such as Matt Duchene or Kevin Shattenkirk. The return is modest at best, as DeAngelo’s questionable past have led him to two trades in the past three years. The 21-year old is a gamble by the Rangers, but will be given a marvelous chance to redeem his value in New York. As for Andersson, he represents a promising young player, but will likely not see any NHL in-game action for a considerable amount of time.

Personally, I am confused as to why the Rangers finalized this move, as Lundqvist is on his last legs as a top NHL goalie. A move like this seems catered toward the long-term, which would be fine if the Rangers were not already built up for a Stanley Cup run. For now, the team has to focus on bringing back Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast, as well as put their efforts into repairing a cracked defensive depth chart.