Following a deep run in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers got off to a rock start to begin the 2022-23 season. This was a group that possessed just a 11-10-5 record following a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 3. Their lofty preseason aspirations were looking bleak.
But New York rallied and has won 18 of its last 25 games since that fateful night
Entering Thursday, however, they were clinging to third place in the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. Even with the offseason addition of center Vincent Trocheck, the Rangers still needed more offensive firepower. That's a testament to how stacked the East is.
Enter Vladimir Tarasenko.
On Thursday, the Rangers acquired the star winger from the St. Louis Blues, as well as defenseman Niko Mikkola, in exchange for winger Sammy Blais, defenseman Hunter Skinner, a conditional 2023 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick.
In adding Tarasenko, the Rangers have transformed themselves into the upper echelon of Stanley Cup contenders. Just from a pure talent standpoint, Tarasenko's offensive acumen makes him one of the more dangerous forwards around. This is a player that has scored at least 30 goals in six of his last eight seasons.
As you can see above, Tarasenko does have just 29 points (10 goals and 19 assists) throughout the 2022-23 season thus far, but it's important to note that injuries have limited him to just 38 games. The star winger missed 10 consecutive contests due to a hand injury, but recently returned to action full-time just before the All-Star break.
Tarasenko is slated to make his Rangers debut on Friday against the Seattle Kraken. It's unclear exactly where Tarasenko will play, but it's fairly likely that the 31-year-old stud will slide onto the Rangers' top line alongside center Mika Zibanejad and fellow winger Artemi Panarin.
Regardless of what line Tarasenko plays on, his offensive production should see a nice boost. He's joining a much more dangerous offense in New York. Adam Fox, Zibanejad, and Panarain all ranking in the top 12 in the NHL in assists. With that in mind, the goal-scoring opportunities should be a tad more plentiful after playing on a Blues team that ranked 22nd in the league with just 3.00 goals-per-game.
While the plan is for Tarasenko to help the Rangers create more breathing room in the Wild Card standings, the postseason is where he can truly prove his worth.
New York had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three of the previous four seasons prior to last year. They ended up outlasting both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes in seven-game series in the opening two rounds of the postseason, and the Eastern Conference Final even got off to a great start. They outscored the Lightning, 9-4 , in the first two games and took a surprising 2-0 series lead.
Then everything went south. New York lost the ensuing four games of the series, only scoring five goals in those four contests.
By adding Tarasenko, who won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, the Rangers may be able to avoid a collapse like that. His playoff track record speaks for itself. In 90 career postseason games, the star forward has:
- 60 points (41 goals & 19 assists)
- He scored 11 goals and had six assists during the Blues' Stanley Cup winning campaign in 2019.
- During the 2015-16 postseason, Tarasenko also rose to the occasion as he compiled nine goals and six assists in 20 games.
Yes, even before the trade the Rangers had a roster compiled of some of the most talented playmakers that the league has to offer. But Panarin, Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Trocheck, Filip Chytil, and now Tarasenko highlight arguably one of the deepest top-six forward groups in the entire NHL, which will make the Rangers incredibly dangerous come playoff time.
Even without the move for Tarasenko, the Rangers were probably going to make the playoffs as one of the three Wild Card teams in the Eastern Conference. But it's worth wondering if they would've had the firepower to make a deep run at the Stanley Cup.
Now with Tarasenko, the Rangers have a true shot to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time since 1994.