Copp, Braun make Rangers more balanced after trade deadline

The Eastern Conference’s playoff picture is jam-packed with teams you can imagine making a deep playoff run. That said, if there’s a team that could be labeled a “pretender” — at least compared to being a contender — it might have been the New York Rangers. At the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, the Rangers took promising steps toward addressing some serious red flags.

Now, the Rangers’ underlying issues may still linger, but Justin Braun, Andrew Copp, Tyler Motte, and Frank Vatrano combine for a solid trade deadline haul.

Details about the trade deadline are still trickling in, for the Rangers and other teams. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the Andrew Copp trade conditions as such:

Rangers receive: Andrew Copp, 2023 sixth-round pick.

Jets receive: A 2022 second-round pick (could become a first-rounder if Rangers win two rounds), a second-rounder in 2022 or 2023, a fifth-rounder in 2023, and Morgan Barron.

To be clear: a positive Rangers trade deadline doesn’t necessarily mean that the team won’t depend on Igor Shesterkin to an arguably historic degree.

"Not listening to arguments for Hart when Matthews is doing things that haven't been done in 20+ years" is an interesting thing to say while we watch Shesterkin do things we haven't been done in 50+ years. https://t.co/F3yPLSqSCY pic.twitter.com/dYajF8iyyW

— CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil) March 9, 2022

Over the years, there are teams that defy analytics. Rarely (see: certain Capitals teams out-shooting expectations), they even avoid slipping over time.

But it’s been a while since the situation has been this extreme. They’re not just mediocre at 5-on-5; they’re downright lousy. The Rangers rank among the bottom-five in quantity stats (like Corsi %) and quality ones (such as expected goals).