The Rangers have done this many times before. The most recent time it worked, one of the players coming over in an all-in trade didn’t wear a helmet.
But that is the history of this franchise, with the curly haired Craig MacTavish and 1994 still meaning more to the fanbase than anything that has happened since. There is an illustrious history littered with underachievement and disappointment. So close, and yet so far.
So if the acquisition of Eric Staal on Sunday from the Hurricanes can be mentioned in the same breath as the ’94 deals that yielded MacTavish, Stephane Matteau, Glenn Anderson and Brian Noonan, well then Staal will not only be joining his brother Marc, but he’ll be joining the heady company of names that remain in franchise lore.
Because the only thing that matters in this town is winning championships. The three conference finals for the Rangers in the past four seasons have been fun, especially coach Alain Vigneault’s run to Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup final in his first season behind the bench. But there are 75 seasons out of the previous 76 that have ended with the Cup in the possession of someone other than the Broadway Blueshirts, and it’s taken it’s toll.
“We felt like the group, if we could do it, needed an addition,” first-year general manager Jeff Gorton said. “Something to show them …”
He then stopped himself, but let’s finish it — something to show them, being both his team and his fans, that the Rangers are all in yet again.
Again, like when they sent their best prospect in ages, Anthony Duclair, to Arizona last season as part of a deal that brought back Keith Yandle. Again, like when they sent captain Ryan Callahan and his contract impasse to Tampa Bay in a deal that brought back Marty St. Louis in 2014. Again, like trading Marian Gaborik to Columbus for a gaggle of players in 2013, and again with Columbus in the summer of 2012, when two sturdy NHLers in Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov were shipped off in a deal that brought back Rick Nash.
And that was just the past four years.
But now, it’s all coming to a head. This was not a flailing move of desperation from a delusional team. This was a calculated move by Gorton, who is turning out to be a rather calculating manager in his first real go of it.
He still has his first-round pick, and he still has Chris Kreider, Oscar Lindberg and everyone that was on or near his team at this juncture of the season. Giving up two second-rounders and a prospect named Aleski Saarela from Finland, plus having Carolina eat half the salary, was an absolute steal for the best forward available — even if the market was limited by Staal’s no-trade clause, waived to come play with his brother.
Coach Alain Vigneault had an apt description of this franchise’s mentality during of this just-completed three-game road trip, when the Blueshirts’ resurgence resulted in back-to-back wins over two of the best teams in the league in the Blues and Stars.
“I think this core group deserves another kick at the can,” Vigneault said.
And so it’s kick away for that group of Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Derek Stepan — and, of course, goalie Henrik Lundqvist. They have been aided by another body with experience and skill. They have been given the chance to put their names into franchise lore.
Because if it doesn’t happen this season, expect major changes. Expect Gorton to see what he can get for Nash in the summer trade market; expect him also to broach the idea of asking Girardi or Staal — Marc, that is — to waive his own no-trade clause. Expect all the young players to be made available for the right price.
This is a risk-reward proposition in an environment with only one wanted outcome. Things will need to break well for the Rangers to finally get them up the Canyon of Heroes in June, but they have a better chance now than they did Saturday.
For a franchise with success as an outlier and disappointment the norm, the Rangers hope Eric Staal can help flip the script — whether he’s wearing a helmet or not.