Martin Biron says Rangers must find ‘right fit,’ not splashy option ahead of trade deadline
Martin Biron believes the New York Rangers need to upgrade their top six ahead of the NHL trade deadline March 8. But the TSN analyst and former Rangers goalie stressed that an incoming player must be the “right fit” and not just the biggest name on the market.
“Do you need somebody to make a big impact or somebody that will just fit? I think that’s the thing,” Biron said in a conversation with Forever Blueshirts. “You need to find the right fit. You don’t need to go and get Jake Guentzel to play on that top line – just as an example, not saying the Rangers have interest in him. What you need is in between what you have and what you could get at the top end.”
It’s similar to what former Rangers general manager Neil Smith said on the Forever Blueshirts Show this week.
“I think you need to be really careful with the team chemistry coming down the line if you’re going to bring somebody in that’s going to be a significant cog,” Smith said.
Like Smith, Biron sees a Rangers team that has excellent chemistry and is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. That puts the onus on current GM Chris Drury to improve the Rangers roster but not mess with a good thing. The Rangers have won 10 of their past 11 games and sit comfortably atop the Metropolitan Division.
Talk about walking a tightrope.
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Martin Biron weighs pros, cons of Rangers trade ahead of March 8 deadline
“I think they need somebody in their top six,” Biron said. “You’ve been having Jimmy Vesey play up and I don’t think that’s where you want to go when it comes to the playoffs. Blake Wheeler was a big loss.
“If I’m the New York Rangers, I like my defense, I like my goaltending, I actually like the depth, I think their depth is fine. I think they need a top-six guy to replace Wheeler and to be better than what Wheeler was bringing to the team.”
Kaapo Kakko will get another crack at playing on the Blueshirts top line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider when the Rangers host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. Vesey will slide back to the bottom six.
But rumors persist that the Rangers are pursuing a reunion with Frank Vatrano to play in the top six. To Biron’s point, a Vatrano addition likely wouldn’t damage team chemistry because he was a nice fit on and off the ice in 2022 when New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
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There are other players of interest to the Rangers, which Biron thinks is fine, as long as they are the right fit on an already successful team.
“I think anybody coming into a really solid room like the Rangers have will be fine,” Biron explained. “To me the key is, is somebody coming out of that room? If you trade for somebody and there’s somebody going out, even if a fourth-line guy or a third-line guy or depth defenseman, that must be considered.”
With Wheeler and Filip Chytil each out for the season, it’s not likely the Rangers will trade anyone from the current roster. However, their No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft is in play. Also, prospects like Brett Berard and Adam Sykora could be dangled to improve the team ahead of their 2024 playoff run.
It makes for an exciting, and nerve-wracking, run up to the deadline next week.
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