Jeff Gorton is now the executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, who host the Rangers on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. But his fingerprints are all over the current Rangers, including the core that reached the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three seasons.

During his tenure as GM from July 1, 2015 – May of 2021 — Gorton signed Artemi Panarin, traded for Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Lindgren, Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, and drafted Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. In fact, New York’s top six defensemen this season — Fox, Lindgren, Trouba, K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Zac Jones — were either drafted or acquired by Gorton.

He also oversaw most of the rebuild after The Letter was sent to Rangers fans on Feb. 8, 2018. During that time he also acquired an excellent bridge player in Ryan Strome, and made some astute moves to land extra draft picks and speed up the rebuild.

Perhaps one of his best gifts — outside of thieving Zibanejad from the Ottawa Senators on July 18, 2016 — was the Rangers draft class in 2020, his final one as general manager.

Related: Rangers star impressed with role players’ ‘dedication just to be ready’

H2

That draft yielded four players currently on the Rangers roster. And there are two others playing in Hartford of the American Hockey League, who seem on the path to New York in the near future.

After the ping-pong balls landed their way that offseason, the Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere No. 1 overall. He broke out last season with 28 goals and 57 points, and tied for the Rangers lead with eight postseason goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In five games this season, the 23-year-old forward has three goals and six points. Lafreniere appears well on his way to stardom in the NHL, a cornerstone piece for years to come on the Rangers roster.

Teams have had no answer for Alexis Lafrenière to start the season! @NYRangers | #NYR pic.twitter.com/qaW3sfRmrB

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) October 21, 2024

Gorton and the Rangers hit on their next two picks, too. Schneider was selected No. 19 overall and forward Will Cuylle was picked late in the second round. Schneider, 23, is already in his fourth NHL season with 211 games on his resume. He moved up to take a bigger role on the second pair with Miller late last season and at times in the playoffs. And this season, he’s already proved his versatility by switching to the left side as a right-hand shot after Lindgren’s upper-body injury.

Cuylle led all NHL rookies with 274 hits last season, when the hulking forward also scored 13 goals. This season, Cuylle has a Rangers-best 24 hits in five games, to go along with a goal and three assists as the unheralded glue of the third line with Chytil and Kakko.

Matt Rempe was selected in the sixth round of that 2020 draft and the 6-foot-9 forward made the opening-night roster after creating quite a stir in 17 games as a rookie in 2023-24.

Then there’s forward Brett Berard (fifth round) and goalie Dylan Garand (fourth round), teammates right now in Hartford. Berard led the Wolf Pack with 25 goals last season and was among the final cuts from Rangers camp. He has four goals in four AHL games already this season.

Garand is in his third season with the Wolf Pack and starred in the Calder Cup Playoffs the previous two springs. The 22-year-old is considered the best in-house option to be Igor Shesterkin’s backup on Broadway after Jonathan Quick retires.

That’s quite the haul and parting gift from Gorton. Perhaps current GM Chris Drury can treat Gorton to some poutine as a thank you with the Rangers in Montreal this week.

Montreal is in a rebuilding phase and a few years away from being a serious contender. If you have watched the Canadiens these past few seasons, you see they’re going through what the Rangers did when Gorton replaced Glen Sather in 2015 as the Rangers’ 11th general manager. The symmetry and imagery are nearly identical.

Gorton took over the Rangers after they won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2014-15 and lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That was one year after the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

He assumed his duties in Montreal mere months after the Canadiens lost in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to the Lightning.

His first two seasons in New York resulted in 100-point campaigns and early postseason exits. A full-on rebuild soon followed. The rebuild was immediate in Montreal, though, and there’ve been three straight years out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so far.

Seeing what was coming, Gorton started making big moves with the Rangers in the 2016 and 2017 offseasons. Looking to get younger and battling a tight salary cap, Gorton made a string of key trades. He offloaded veterans Keith Yandle and Derick Brassard in separate deals in 2016, the latter bringing back 23-year-old Mika Zibanejad in one of the best trades in Rangers history. Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta were traded to the Arizona Coyotes in June of 2017. Dan Girardi had his contract bought out that same summer.

The full-on Rangers rebuild officially began on Feb. 8, 2018. That’s the date when Gorton and Sather, then Rangers president, penned The Letter to fans explaining the plan to rebuild, get younger and trade away older, more expensive players.

That spring, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner were all traded. Eventually so, too, would Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes. In 2020, the Rangers bought out the contract of future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist.

But Gorton wasn’t just tearing down. He was building the Rangers up. He acquired Ryan Strome, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox in trades. Igor Shesterkin was brought over from Russia. Eventually with all of that salary cap space, the Rangers signed Artemi Panarin to a massive free-agent contract, signaling a turn in the rebuild.

Gorton built back New York’s prospects pool, lucking out in 2020 when the ping pong balls helped the Rangers land Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick.

Though Gorton preached patience, Rangers owner James Dolan lost his. Gorton and team president John Davidson were fired in May of 2021, each replaced by Chris Drury. The Rangers have posted three straight 100-point seasons since and reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, with a core assembled by Gorton.

Related: Rangers star says Kaapo Kakko needs “coach’s trust” to succeed in NHL

Jeff Gorton implemented similar strategies with Rangers, Canadiens

When Gorton landed in Montreal, he inherited a mess from previous executive Marc Bergevin. So, he hired former player agent Kent Hughes as the first-time general manager and set about following his New York blueprint about rebuilding an Original Six team.

Gorton and Hughes didn’t issue a letter to Canadiens fans, but they were clear in their messaging that a rebuild was in order. After one season, Gorton brought in a first-time coach, former Rangers forward and Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis. That was not dissimilar to when he hired David Quinn as a first-time NHL coach to develop the Rangers young players.

It was rough in Montreal after their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. Carey Price had severe deterioration in his knee and played only five games in 2021-22. Though he hasn’t retired, Price will never play again in the NHL.

So, in New York, Gorton had to move on from a legendary goalie (Lundqvist) and now the same thing took place in Montreal with Price. This time, Gorton doesn’t have a Shesterkin, or even Alexandar Georgiev, waiting in the wings to take over. Though Sam Montembault and Cayden Primeau are proving capable.

In 2022, the Canadiens moved out Tyler Toffoli, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Hammond, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brett Kulak to create $5.2 million in cap space. The Canadiens traded Jake Allen, Sean Monahan, and Jan Mysak, generating $4 million in cap space in 2024.

Under Gorton, the Canadiens traded for young center Kirby Dach, and have made a string of excellent draft selections to build up their prospects pool. Like in New York in 2020, Gorton saw the Canadiens win the draft lottery and select talented forward Juraj Slafkovsky No. 1 overall in 2022.

Yes, the parallels are uncanny.

Montreal is in position to acquire another top-six forward, in order to bolster a strong group that features Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Dach, and Alex Newhook. The Canadiens are loaded with talented young defensemen in the NHL and on the way with Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Lane Hutson, and Justin Barron.

If this sounds familiar, recall how Gorton stockpiled the Rangers farm system before striking. With multiple draft picks in the first four rounds of the next couple drafts, the Canadiens can either fortify their system with more high-end talent or swing a trade or two for established NHL stars.

There’s still work to be done with the current roster. Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and Joel Armia are players the Canadiens want to move out for salary cap reasons. Landing a true No. 1 goalie will certainly catapult the Canadiens into the next phase of their rebuilding process.

It’s a familiar blueprint Gorton is following with the Canadiens. One that has served the Rangers quite well.

Gorton’s Canadiens have been a team tied to Laine since last season. Things have started to pick up since Laine was cleared to return from the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program two weeks ago. The former 40-goal scorer has been in the program since January for mental health treatment.

After playing only 18 games with the Blue Jackets last season, recording six goals and nine points, Laine entered the program on Jan. 28. He was due to a return from a fractured clavicle that he sustained in December but entered the program instead of returning to play. Laine missed the rest of the season and asked for a trade out of Columbus during this offseason.

However, new Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell wants to make a “hockey trade” for Patrik Laine, who has two years remaining on a contract with an $8.7 million AAV.

As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported, Waddell does not just want draft picks and prospects as part of the return for Laine. He would like to get a regular lineup player without having to retain a significant part of Laine’s salary. That’d be tough to do now with most teams owning limited salary cap space this late in the summer.

In an interview with Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post Dispatch, Waddell acknowledged that he might have to retain some salary to move forward.

“We might end up eating some money. If I wanted to eat half, I could’ve traded him by now, but that’s not my first choice,” the Blue Jackets general manager said.

The Rangers have a positional fit for Laine but the economics at this stage certainly don’t fit. But there are teams that could make a Laine trade work.

Related: Rangers missed out on this bargain NHL free agent

Former Rangers GM could try to land Patrik Laine for Canadiens

So, do Gorton and the Canadiens fit in here?

The Canadiens are trying to accelerate their rebuild, like the one Gorton oversaw for several years with the Rangers. And Montreal is looking to add a top-six forward to their roster, after averaging 2.83 goals per game last season, which ranked 26th in the NHL.

That makes the idea of adding a six-time 20-goal scorer, who’s topped 28 four times, enticing.

And that’s why there’s a connection between Laine and the Canadiens on the NHL rumor mill.

Like any other team, the Canadiens could have traded for Laine before he got out of the program, but there was so much uncertainty surrounding when he was going to return to the ice that it held things up. Likely Gorton and Co. would want to speak with Laine before a potential trade to see where his head is at.

While taking on the full $8.7 million cap hit may not be ideal, the Canadiens can afford to do so once Carey Price and his $10.5 million AAV go on LTIR (long-term injured reserve). Laine is only 26 and could be an intriguing fit with young guns like Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky already in the top six.

In order for Montreal and Columbus to swing a deal, Gorton could give up less if the Canadiens took on all of Laine’s salary. But if it’s going to be a hockey deal, does Columbus really want veterans like Christian Dvorak or Joel Armia? Waddell increases his chances at landing an Alex Newhook, Josh Roy or one of Montreal’s talented young defensemen as part of a package if he retains some of that Laine salary.

The latest rumors have centered on the Minnesota Wild being an interesting landing spot for Laine. However the Wild are right up against the cap, so they’d have to get awfully creative to land the forward from the Rangers’ Metropolitan Division rival.

There’s much more of a path for the Canadiens to make a trade for the talented, if oft-injured, right wing. So, keep an eye on Gorton, who had the reputation with the Rangers as one who was unafraid of making big-time trades.

Alexis Lafreniere was the headliner of the 2020 draft class after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick. Though he struggled to find his footing his first three seasons, Lafreniere broke out this past season and emerged a star in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But the success of this draft class goes beyond Lafreniere. Of the nine players that the Rangers drafted in 2020, Braden Schneider (1st round, No. 19 overall), Will Cuylle (2nd round, No. 60 overall), and Matt Rempe (6th round, No. 165 overall) have also become important NHL players for the Rangers.

Schneider’s a staple on the blue line, missing just three games since his debut midway through the 2021-22 season. Cuylle’s coming off a promising first full season at the NHL level after appearing in four games the year prior. And Rempe won the hearts of New Yorkers with an electric rookie season in 2023-24.

On top of that, forward Brett Berard (5th round, No. 134 overall) and goalie Dylan Garand (4th round, No. 103 overall) are impressing with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate, and could join the Blueshirts in the NHL in upcoming seasons.

Related: Rangers options if looking to trade Kaapo Kakko, move up in 1st round of 2024 draft

Rangers 2020 NHL Daft class is turning into exceptional one

Gorton’s legacy with New York is a complicated one, particularly after a rebuild that saw many fan favorites shipped away, and not always for bountiful returns. Still, he hit the mark with the last draft class of his tenure, leaving the Rangers with a slew of players that could be in the picture long term.

Lafreniere’s development is an absolute game-changer. After captaining Canada to a World Juniors gold medal and winning tournament MVP along with a 112-point season that led the QMJHL, he was the consensus top pick and a no-brainer after the Rangers won the NHL Draft Lottery in 2020.

But Lafreniere failed to live up to the expectations, tallying 47 goals and 91 points in 216 games over his first three seasons. Labeled as a major disappointment and a draft failure, he entered his age-22 season with questions if it would be his last in New York.

He proceeded to change the narrative, setting NHL career highs with 28 goals and 57 points despite minimal time on the top power-play unit. He displayed an ability to generate offense on the big stage, scoring seven of his team-leading eight postseason goals at five-on-five.

Now, he’ll enter his age-23 season with loads of confidence and still plenty of room to grow. As long as he and current GM Chris Drury can come to terms on an RFA deal next season, he should be a key piece of the Rangers’ core for years to come.

He’s not the only one that has the potential to be a long-time Ranger.

Schneider took the opportunity he got in his rookie campaign and ran with it, appearing in all 20 postseason games as a bottom-pairing defenseman as the Rangers made a run to the 2020 Eastern Conference Final.

Despite some typical growing pains, he’s been a reliable presence on the back end and could step into an even bigger role next season after playing next to K’Andre Miller in this year’s playoffs. He’ll need a new RFA deal this offseason, but don’t expect him to go anywhere — the Rangers will need his size and athleticism moving forward.

It’s tougher to make long-term projections for Cuylle, but he undoubtedly held his own in his first taste of consistent action in the NHL. Appearing in every regular-season game but one, Cuylle led all rookies and finished seventh in the League with 247 hits.

On top of his physical play, he managed a respectable 13 goals and 21 points. It’s hard to say whether or not he’ll develop into a top-six winger, but he did score 43 goals in 59 OHL games in 2021-22 and 25 goals in 69 AHL games in 2022-23.

It’s even harder to project Rempe. Whether he’s a flash in the pan or a long-term regular remains to be seen. The 6-foot-8 forward electrified fans with his size and big hits, but it’s still up in the air if he’s ready for a permanent fourth-line role. He’s still very raw, and there are plenty of aspects to his game that need to be refined, something he admitted after the season.

“I’m gonna work at every single part of my game,” Rempe said during the team’s exit interviews. “I wanna bring more to the table. I wanna be a guy who can play 8-12 minutes every night.”

He came up in the system as a center, and if he can sharpen his skating, defense, and puck control, he’d provide great value as a sixth-round pick.

Then there’s Garand and Berard.

Garand’s played 73 games in the AHL the past two seasons with Hartford, splitting time with Louis Domingue. While his regular-season numbers don’t leap off the page, he’s been a clutch postseason performer with a 2.21 Goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 17 Calder Cup Playoff games.

Jonathan Quick will return for next season, but Garand could be in line to assume backup goalie duties behind Igor Shesterkin in 2025-26.

Berard could crack the NHL even sooner, coming off a team-high 25-goal season in Hartford. With Drury announcing that the Rangers will explore both internal and external solutions to fill the open holes on the roster, perhaps the 21-year-old gets a chance to make the team this fall, similar to how Cuylle did this past season.

Either way, the Rangers have already seen plenty of value from their 2020 draft and could see plenty more in future seasons.

Gorton and president John Davidson were fired in May of the following year. Drury assumed both duties, handling the 2021 draft and constructed a team that has reached the Eastern Conference Final twice in the past three seasons.

But traces of Gorton’s fingerprints still linger and the 2020 draft remains a lasting memory of his tenure and one of the finer moments of his six years as Rangers GM.

However, it does mark a fitting, anticlimactic end to the infamous trade of Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller, with Henriksson being the last remaining piece in the Rangers organization from that 2018 deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On February 8, 2018, Rangers president Glen Sather and general manager Jeff Gorton released a letter to their fans, warning that the team would seek to acquire young talent and potentially part ways with familiar faces as the upcoming trade deadline, setting the course for a rebuild after a string of successful seasons and deep playoff runs.

They ended up trading several key players, including McDonagh who had served as captain for the previous four seasons, and Miller, who was an exciting forward and former 15th-overall pick.

This particular deal saw McDonagh and Miller shipped to the Lightning, who were pushing to make a Stanley Cup run. In exchange, the Rangers received Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, and two early draft picks — the Lightning’s first-rounder in 2018 and a second-rounder in 2019. New York took Nils Lundkvist with the first-round pick and selected Henriksson 58th overall with the second-rounder.

Six years later, not a single piece from the trade package remains in the Rangers organization. It remains a black mark on the Rangers’ rebuild, arguably the worst move in general manager Jeff Gorton’s tenure, and one of the worst trades in Rangers history.

Related: Early look at 2024-25 Hartford Wolf Pack roster, including Brennan Othmann

Trading Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller to Lightning in 2018 one of worst in Rangers history

Unable to pry away prized young talent like Brayden Point or Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay, Gorton built the deal around Hajek, a former second-round pick with exciting upside as a 20-year-old defenseman. But Hajek never sniffed his lofty expectations.

Given numerous chances to seize playing time and a permanent spot in the Rangers defense corps, Hajek never played more than 44 games in a single season across five years. The Rangers let him go after the 2022-23 season, and he has not played a game in the NHL since. He played 110 games as a Blueshirt, managing just 12 points and a minus-9 rating.

Namestnikov had four and a half years of experience at the time of the trade, all with Tampa Bay. The 27th overall pick in 2011 had already set NHL career highs in the 61 games prior to the trade, scoring 20 goals and 44 points. He scored two goals and four points in his subsequent 19 games with the Rangers, and to this day, has not scored 20 goals or 40 points since.

Early in the 2019-20 season, the Rangers dealt him to the Ottawa Senators for an unremarkable return. Namestnikov played 99 games with the Blueshirts and scored just 13 goals and 35 points. He’s stayed in the League but bounced around frequently, closing out this past season with the Winnipeg Jets, his sixth different team since leaving the Blueshirts.

Howden won a Stanley Cup ring and enjoyed a two-goal performance in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. It just so happens he did it for the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

Of the five players in this package, Howden had the best career with the Rangers by default, playing 178 games with New York, scoring 16 goals and 49 points. Advertised as an exciting two-way forward, the 27th overall pick in 2016 ended up being a solid fourth-line center in New York but was dealt to Vegas in the summer of 2021, finding success in a bottom-six role there.

For a little while, there was some hope that Lundkvist would be the pize of this trade, after the defenseman drew attention with some nice offensive play in the SHL. Given 25 games of run as a 21-year-old with the Rangers in 2021-22, Lundkvist managed a goal and four points, failing to do enough to stay in the lineup. The Rangers traded him to the Dallas Stars that offseason, getting a first-round pick in return which was flipped ahead of the 2023 trade deadline to the St. Louis Blues for Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola.

Henriksson failed to garner the same hype and, after struggling in the AHL for two seasons, has elected to return to the SHL.

The return for McDonagh and Miller resulted in a combined 412 games at the NHL level with the Rangers and just 100 points produced. No one from the trade has played for the Rangers since 2022-23, with Hajek being the last one.

Meanwhile, McDonagh played a major role in the Lightning’s three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, getting his name engraved on the Cup in 2020 and 2021. After two seasons with the Nashville Predators, he’s returning to the Lightning next season after a recent offseason trade.

Miller wasn’t able to stick in Tampa long enough to hoist the Cup. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2019. Nonetheless, he’s become one of the League’s top offensive centers, scoring an NHL career-high 37 goals and 103 points this past season.

👏 J.T. 👏 MILLER 👏 pic.twitter.com/6M3hvLOlMX

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 27, 2024

It’s pretty clear cut — New York got the short end of the stick on this trade.

There are still loose ties in the organization from the trade tree. The fourth-round pick Ottawa gave up for Namestnikov was used to take forward Kalle Vaisanen, who signed late this season and played three games for Hartford.

The fourth-rounder from Vegas in the Howden deal was used on Noah Laba, who has yet to sign an entry-level contract. Laba just wrapped up his second season at Colorado College and was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Defensive Forward of the Year as well as All-NCHC First Team.

The Rangers’ fire sale in 2018 resulted in a lot of big-name players being shipped out. Along with McDonagh and Miller, Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes, and Mats Zuccarello were all traded as Gorton tried to accumulate draft picks and young talent.

While the Nash trade netted them Ryan Lindgren and helped the Rangers move up to select K’Andre Miller 22nd overall in the draft, it’s hard to feel like the Rangers got the return value they should have from the talent they parted with.

Fans need to look no further than the colossal failure of the trade with the Lightning, as Henriksson’s departure marks the final blow, cementing it as one of the worst trades in Rangers history.

There were some difficult trades to swallow after the announcement, however. Popular players like Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, J.T. Miller, Michael Grabner, and Nick Holden were all shipped out for the supposed building blocks of the next great Rangers team.

The following season, Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and Adam McQuaid, along with Jimmy Vesey and Cody McLeod, were dealt away in the second installment of the Rangers rebuild.

In a city that demands excellence, rebuilding seemed like the worst possible idea for Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton. After their press conference and the execution of several trades that saw the 2017-2018 roster torn apart, it seemed like many years of dark times were on the horizon in New York.

Related: Rangers disinterest in trading 2024 top pick has ‘zero validity’: report

Rangers rebuild paid off quicker than expected after “The Letter” was released in 2018

Surprisingly, the Rangers were able to make a very quick turnaround. After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2018 and 2019, losing in the COVID play-in in 2020, and narrowly missing in 2021, the Blueshirts finally got back on track. They seemed to go through an entire rebuild in about four years, impressive considering other teams seem to have been rebuilding for a decade now.

It is hard to say whether this was entirely due to “The Letter” and the rebuild itself. The results of many trades were mixed. But the building of the current Rangers team must be considered a success.

The Rangers did miss out with several top draft picks after “The Letter.” Selecting players like Lias Andersson, Vitali Kravtsov and Nils Lundkvist didn’t work out, seeing as they never reached their potential with the Rangers. Many young players had a hard time developing under coaches David Quinn and Gerard Gallant, looking at the players the Rangers could have drafted in many cases stings for sure. Some of the alternatives that were still on the board have made a big impact in the NHL.

That being said, the fire sale of 2018 and 2019 did provide some solid pieces that the Rangers still currently have. They acquired Ryan Lindgren as part of the Rick Nash deal with the Boston Bruins. Through draft picks, New York was able to select Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and K’Andre Miller. They also selected Braden Schneider and Will Cuylle. Each of these young and promising players have impacted the current roster in their own way.

Also, as a result of the rebuild, the Rangers had the available salary cap space to bring in Artemi Panarin, who’s on the short list of best NHL players since arriving on Broadway in 2019. Add Adam Fox into the mix, develop Igor Shesterkin to be Henrik Lundqvist’s heir apparent and follow the trade trees down to the addition of current captain Jacob Trouba, and the Rangers found themselves playing in the 2022 Eastern Conference Final, just four seasons after “The Letter”.

The 2021-22 playoff run was a special one for the Rangers. After being down three games to one and coming back to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of Game 7, everyone could feel that something special was happening. That OT goal by Panarin will go down as one of the most electric moments in recent Madison Square Garden history.

After defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the second round and taking a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final, the Rangers ran out of steam, losing in six to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Following that playoff run with a strong season in 2022-23 was important, and the Rangers managed to do just that. However, blowing another two-game series lead in the very first round of the playoffs sent a shock through the entire Rangers organization and brought an end to Gallant’s tenure.

Now, with Peter Laviolette at the helm, the Rangers are once again embarking on their quest for the Stanley Cup that has eluded them for 30 years. While they were ever so close in 2012, 2014, and 2015, the rebuild was necessary. The aging roster was no longer going to compete for a championship, and moves needed to be made.

Six years after “The Letter,” the Rangers are now equipped with a young, talented, and exciting roster that is among the best in the NHL. Granted their ups and downs, the building blocks put in place by the rebuild of 2018 have the chance to show that it was a necessary sacrifice.

Former Rangers GM and now VP of Hockey Ops for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton all but confirmed that speculation. Appearing on the The Raw Knuckles Podcast, Gorton gave some inside details to host Chris Nilan on how the trade went down.

Inside the Adam Fox trade

Fox had a great rookie campaign with 42 points in 70 games. It was his second season that turned heads when he garnered 47 points in a 56 game COVID shortened season. By capturing the Norris Trophy, he became only the second NHL defenseman since Bobby Orr to win it in their sophomore season.

So how did the Rangers land Fox, who was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the third-round of the 2016 draft. A clue came when he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018 after not signing an entry-level contract.

“Foxy had been drafted by Calgary and already traded once,” Gorton began. “As he got closer to the luxury that college players have of free agency, if you’re four years out from being drafted, he figured out he can play where he wants to play. We started doing the math and figured out that might be in New York.”

Gorton then admitted before making the trade that he needed some convincing. Enter Fox’s head coach at Harvard, Ted Donato.

“Just talking to Donnie Waddell (Carolina GM) and working on that deal, he wanted a first but we went back and did a few things,” Gorton explained about the negotiations. “I called Teddy Donato in Harvard, who played for me and told him they’re asking for a second and a third or maybe two second rounders. He said to me, ‘Then why did you hang up?’ And so that’s basically (how it went down).”

So what was the apprehension for Gorton to make the deal?

We all loved Adam Fox and what he could do,” Gorton said. “The only question was because he played 35 minutes a night in Harvard, people thought that he couldn’t skate. But you go and keep seeing an elite player going back out there, [you realize] he was tired.”

A great trade

Although Fox, a lifelong Rangers wanted to come to New York, it’s evident that Gorton didn’t see it as the slam dunk trade it turned out to be.

Fox, 24, recorded a career-high 74 points in 78 games in 2021-22. He added another 23 points in 20 playoffs contests for good measure. And while this is just the beginning of his young career entering year four, he’s already one of the great trades of all-time for the franchise.

The Rangers talented defenseman was recently ranked by NHL Network as the 16th best player in the league.

“When you see Adam Fox if you never saw him play hockey you’d look at him and say he doesn’t have size (5-foot-11, 182 pounds), he’s not really that fast of a skater,” Rupp said. “But when you watch him on the ice, he’s all over the place. … I just find him to be a very smart offensive player from the backend.”

NHL.com

CHECK THIS OUT! Our interview with Jeff Gorton is AVAILABLE NOW! Use the links below to listen EVERYWHERE!

🎧 : https://t.co/mRBAGPFiHT
🍎 : https://t.co/L6QTN3zSRr
📺 : https://t.co/YNanNXvxQN#RawKnuclesPodcast pic.twitter.com/vvZ223tAn4

— The Sick Podcast – Raw Knuckles with Chris Nilan (@sickpodknuckles) September 29, 2022

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Editor’s Note: Correction made regarding 2016 Draft.

Of the projected 23 players on the roster this upcoming season, Gorton was directly responsible for acquiring 16 of them. Chris Kreider was drafted by Glen Sather in 2009, but Gorton extended him in 2020.

If you add them up, that’s 70% of the Blueshirts likely roster.

New York Rangers roster by acquiring GM

Here’s a breakdown of the projected 2022-23 roster by GM and means of acquisition.

Jeff Gorton set the Rangers up for success

Jeff Gorton became the Blueshirts full-time GM in 2015 and is credited for making some of the franchises best moves.

His greatest transaction was trading for Mika Zibanejad and a 2nd round pick in exchange for Derick Brassard and a 7th round pick. Gorton also acquired Adam Fox for two 2nd round draft picks and pried Ryan Lindgren from the Bruins in the Rick Nash deal

That’s a number one center, a Norris Trophy winner, and his rock-steady partner right in three deals. But Gorton also drafted 8 of the 16 players mentioned including Igor Shesterkin, who is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.

One of the most successful Rangers free agent signings in history is Artemi Panarin and Gorton is responsible for that as well.

Throw in some shrewd draft day deals to move up for K’Andre Miller (2018) and Braden Schneider (2020) as extra icing on the cake. Draft Lottery luck aside, should Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko realize their full potential, he should have a monument built outside the Garden to honor all these moves.

Of course, some credit needs to go to the scouting department which was led by Gordie Clark for many years. With help from Nick Bobrov as head of European Scouting, they restocked an empty Rangers prospect cupboard.

Another instrumental figure was John Rosasco, who joined the organization in 1987. He worked his way from intern to VP of PR and Player Recruitment (2007 – 2021), playing a key supporting role in many of the Rangers big trades and signings over the years.

All of them are no longer with the club after the change in management that began with the dismissals of John Davidson and Gorton. However, every single member of the previous staff is owed a thank you for the current state of the Rangers.

Chris Drury needs to finish the job

First things first, Drury also deserves credit for the overall roster having been with the organization since 2015. Just one year later, he was promoted to assistant general manager before assuming the role of president and general manager in 2021.

A look at the Rangers projected lineup shows 7 players directly attributed to Chris Drury.

• Sammy Blais
• Ryan Carpenter
• Barclay Goodrow
• Jaroslav Halak
• Dryden Hunt
• Ryan Reaves
• Vincent Trocheck

Since Drury has only been in charge for two full offseasons, his draft picks won’t likely be on the team this season. Brennan Othmann, selected in the first round of 2021 stands the best chance to make it in the near future.

Still, Drury has been setup nicely by the prior management group and needs to finish the job. No easy thing, but so far he’s getting it done.

He started putting his stamp on the team by bringing in head coach Gerard Gallant, which is probably his most significant move to date. He followed that by acquiring Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves in his first summer at the helm. Their additions automatically made the locker-room better and the Rangers became harder to play against.

Now he’s starting to make the bigger moves by signing free agent center Vincent Trocheck to replace Ryan Strome, who was another solid Gorton acquisition.

At the last trade deadline, Drury did a fantastic job bringing in key pieces like Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Motte, and Justin Braun. Not a single roster player or prospect was moved to acquire them, just draft picks with only one being a first-round selection. That is excellent work for any GM in the game today.

What big deadline moves does Drury have planned this season? Could it be Patrick Kane? Whomever he brings in, the foundation for success has already been laid. It’s all about the tweaks which is completely in his hands.

As Training Camp officially opens today, it signals the start of a new season. This will be Drury’s second at the controls and he has only one goal.

“I know how important this job is to our fans and the the organization,” Drury said. “I go to bed at night thinking of them and how badly I want to deliver them a Stanley Cup.”

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Out were President John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton. Fired for what owner James Dolan classified as lack of leadership but oddly conspicuous happening right after Capitals enforcer Tom Wilson trampled on the team at Madison Square Garden the day before.

Promoted to both roles was former NHL captain Chris Drury. That started a chain reaction that led to veteran and hard-nosed coach Gerard Gallant being hired.

Drury followed that up by trading for and signing Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves. He added tough players like Sammy Blais, Dryden Hunt, and Patrik Nemeth in separate transactions.

Toughness addressed.

Jeff Gorton dealing with similar issues in Montreal

The Montreal Canadiens are an absolute mess. Things are tough both mentally and physically for many of their players. And why wouldn’t they be? This team just played in the Stanley Cup Final last season and have become a bottom-feeder in just one a few short months.

Media in Montreal have been going crazy after goaltender Samuel Montembeault was absolutely steamrolled by Zack Kassian on Saturday. Not a single member of the Habs did a thing to defend him.

Jeff Gorton’s new GM, Kent Hughes addressed that today.

“We had our scout meetings this weekend,” Hughes said. “This is something that we discussed. Jeff Gorton spoke about his experiences in New York, what the Rangers lacked in their return to respectability, they didn’t have enough toughness in their squad to protect the youngsters.”

Gorton understood the Rangers had a problem

Jeff Gorton was a guest on the Cam and Strick Podcast this summer. Hosts Andy Strickland and former NHL tough guy, Cam Janssen wanted to know just what happened with the Tom Wilson incident. The former Rangers GM told them what he knew, but shockingly isn’t sure if that was the only reason for his dismissal.

“No, I didn’t know it was going to turn into that, it surprised me,” Gorton answered. “Obviously, I lost my job – it probably has to be more than that. I don’t know but it has to be more than that – it can’t be just one thing.”

“You can’t tell me JD who loves toughness didn’t know we weren’t tough,” Gorton revealed. “All the meetings we had with David Quinn talking about getting tougher over time, we also needed some of these young guys who were playing for us to have to deal with adversity – see how they did with it too.”

“Obviously it didn’t go well, and Wilson should’ve been suspended,” he said. “I didn’t think that night was going to be what it turned into – that people were going to lose their jobs.”

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Multiple reports indicate that Marc Bergevin’s run as general manager is done. Also, in the aftermath of the news, Habs assistant GM Scott Mellanby has resigned.

Former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton joining Canadiens

The Habs are 6-15-2 this season and very likely not making the playoffs after a miracle run to the Finals last season.

“They do have permission to talk to Gorton. I’ve been told he’s not going to be the GM, so don’t say he’s going to be GM,” Elliotte Friedman said of the situation. “But it’s possible he could be president of hockey ops or something along that role. Whatever the case is, it appears as if major changes are coming in Montreal and I think Jeff Gorton’s going to be a pretty big part of that.”

Gorton took over as the Rangers full time GM in July of 2015. He ushered in the biggest change in franchise history when they finally did the unthinkable in New York – announced a rebuild.

Aside from key moves like acquiring Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox for basically songs, he took a barren prospect pipeline and stocked it with some high-end talent. Getting lucky by winning the lottery aside, Gorton is considered one of the best executives in the game today.

Rangers milestones within reach

The New York Rangers were scheduled to host the Islanders today but the game has been postponed due to an 8th positive case for the Isles. Gerard Gallant’s charges next game will be against the Flyers at MSG on December 1st.

Here’s which Blueshirts are nearing key milestones.

• Mika Zibanejad is 1 overtime goal away from tying Cecil Dillon, Butch Keeling and Brian Leetch (7 each) for the most overtime goals by a player in Rangers history. He’s also 1 point away from his 300th point as a Blueshirt.
• Artemi Panarin is 6 points away from 500 career points.

Recent milestones reached:

• Chris Kreider PPG (67) against the Islanders on 11/24 passed Mike Gartner for the 10th most PPG’s in team history.
• Ryan Reaves played in his 700th career game on 11/21 against the Sabres and picked up an assist

Notable achievement:

The Rangers hit the 20 game mark against the Bruins on Friday. With the win, it’s their best 20 game start since the 2016-17 season (14-5-1). Gallant also became the second highest point getter for a Blueshirts coach in his first 20 games (Phil Esposito is first with a 15-5-0 for 30 points in 1986-87).

*All Stats and Info courtesy New York Rangers

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