True, the New York Rangers traded a slew of players and had no first round draft picks for four years (2013-16) and no second-round picks in 2013, 2016 and 2017. It’s easy to say that if the team still had those assets, the Rangers would be a young team contending for a deep playoff run. But, if you look at what was traded away, especially the draft picks, it just isn’t so.
In exchange for making those deals, the Rangers got trips to the Conference Quarter-Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Conference Finals and a disappointing first-round loss to Pittsburgh, the eventual Cup champions.