Quick thoughts on the Zuccarello trade

The Rangers traded one of their more beloved players in recent memory yesterday, and the reactions were a wide variety of positivity and frustration. I’m going to hold off on a big post until Monday, mostly because the Rangers play this afternoon, but I have some general thoughts.

1. The return seems underwhelming, but it’s likely the best deal they could get. The return shows what 31 year old winger who, before January and February, wasn’t playing well. He’s a UFA winger with no term. The emotional value of Zucc was worth more to fans than his actual trade value. That’s par for the course for the most part, as fans always inflate the value of their own players and prospects.

2. That said,…