MTPS: Clipping the Red Wings to Fix Two Problems at Once

All right, let's begin at the beginning.

I know that there is a segment of the fan base that still does not believe in this team. You were skeptical (at best) heading into the season, and the injury to superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin has you convinced, more than ever, that the best path forward for the New York Rangers is to use this as an opportunity to tear the team down, sell off players like J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Adam Fox, and accumulate draft picks and prospects.

I'm here to say, I understand.

I'm also here to say that's almost certainly not happening.

Over the last couple of years, whenever this team faced adversity, they folded. The players would get lost in their own emotions, withdraw, and ultimately fold. Now, it has a different feel. In the immediate aftermath of the Shesterkin injury, the Rangers' leadership group was saying all the right things. They all spoke about how they believe in each other and will use this to galvanize the team, not deflate it.

The schedule makers have helped turn words into action, giving the team the opportunity to play a reeling Vancouver Canucks team in its first game post-Shesterkin. The team responded the way you would want it to. The Rangers blew Vancouver's doors off in a feel-good romp in front of the Garden Faithful. The youngest team in the league dominated Vancouver throughout, racking up 6 goals from four different goal scorers, the oldest being Tye Kartye at 25.

Can the Rangers keep this going? I don't know. I'll make you a deal: I won't pretend to know whether the Rangers can keep playing the up-tempo, physical, inspired brand of hockey that they've played thus far this season if YOU agree you don't know that they won't.

What I can tell you is this: I do not believe Quentin Dolan, president and general manager Chris Drury, or head coach Mike Sullivan are thinking about waving the white flag on the season just because Shesterkin is out. I believe the mission is the same as it was a week ago, which is the same as it was a month ago: make the playoffs and be a tough out.

And that mission is still possible, but the team will need help, and the injury to Shesterkin gives it significant ammunition to get that help.

Eric wrote up some realistic options for the Rangers to pursue in net, while I wrote up a less realistic one. One of Eric's options did jump out at me, not because I love the player, but because of how it could open the door to a bigger deal that could solve a problem the Rangers had before Igor went down: the need for a No. 1 center.

I have said now, for a couple of seasons, that Dylan Larkin to the New York Rangers is a thing that makes sense. He fills a glaring need. His age aligns with the current team's competition window, and he is a top-notch player. I have been critical of Larkin, not because he asked for a trade—after two years of watching the Detroit Red Wings' leadership dither around, I fully understand Larkin's desire to move to a team that is willing to improve itself—but because he has been unwilling to add additional teams to his trade list.

The teams he has, thus far, been willing to go to either lack the resources to make a trade or the cap space to accommodate Larkin's $8.7 million cap hit. The New York Rangers have both. Now the ball is in Larkin's court. He can either stay in Detroit and try to make it work, or he can expand his options to include other teams.

Let's assume he does the latter. Let's assume he's willing to come to the New York Rangers.