While other teams made moves like acquiring acquired top tier scoring talent like John Tavares and James van Riemsdyk, the New York Rangers opted to just re-sign assets like Brady Skjei, Kevin Hayes, Vlad Namestnikov and Ryan Spooner. They did make several small moves, signing Claesson and trading for Adam McQuaid, to bolster their defense, their weakest link.
It can be argued that the Rangers team of 2017-18 collapsed from the inside based on the lack of consistency from the defensive group, which also dealt with some injury issues. The heart of the Rangers defense that started the season was led by Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith and Marc Staal, along with Brady Skjei and Nick Holden.