July 18 was an offseason defining day for the New York Rangers.
Up to this point, the Blueshirt’s summer had been rather conservative. Jeff Gorton decided to send puck-moving specialist Keith Yandle to the Florida Panthers for a pair of draft picks, as the Rangers just simply weren’t willing to hand out a seven-year deal worth an average annual value of $6.35 million to a 29-year old who is handicapped in his own zone.
The commencement of free agency saw the Blueshirts make some minor changes to their bottom six. Jeff Gorton opted not to re-sign veterans Viktor Stalberg, who inked a one-year pact with the Carolina Hurricanes, and Eric Staal, who signed for three years with the Minnesota Wild, in favor of speedster Michael Grabner and penalty-killing expert Josh Jooris (who actually signed two weeks after he hit the open market).