Expectations were high for Vlad Namestnikov when the New York Rangers first acquired the forward. In 62 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to the trade, he had reached a career high in goals (20), assists (24), and points (44). Before that, his best was 35 points in 80 games in 2015-16.
After joining the Rangers, he scored just four points in 19 games. While he was revealed to have a shoulder injury which held him out of the 2018 World Championship, that post-deadline performance still put a damper on the expectations for him his year.