The Rangers’ deadline exodus created roster spots for new and/or young faces to fill, particularly on the blue line. The holes left by the departures of Rick Nash and J.T. Miller were filled by Ryan Spooner and Vladislav Namestnikov, but the Michael Grabner trade did not bring an NHL-ready asset back to New York. In other words, there has been at least one roster spot available in the bottom six since deadline day and the Rangers have been squandering it.
Now that Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson are up with the big club, veteran forwards David Desharnais, Paul Carey, and Peter Holland have all been healthy scratches.