While there’s been a lot of focus on Patrick Kane, who the New York Rangers performed major cap gymnastics to acquire, it’s Vladimir Tarasenko that could be the difference maker against the New Jersey Devils.
Heading into this season, the Rangers right wing position was a huge question mark with youngsters Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, and Sammy Blais competing for top-nine spots. Alexis Lafreniere and Chris Kreider were also playing out of position early on to address that area of weakness.
However, the Rangers were always eyeing a big trade to bolster that spot but needed to wait closer to the trade deadline to make it work with the salary cap.