We all know that the Rangers have amassed a lot of young and promising pieces since they embarked on the Great Reconstruction by the 2018 commercial deadline. However, it is still impossible to tell if the team is ahead, behind or planned, already that, let’s face it, the look of the final image is not only unfinished, but also a puzzle.
But we know for sure that the Rangers wouldn’t even be close to where they are if it weren’t for transportation general manager Jeff Gorton who brought from Boston the February 25, 2018 lease for Rick Nash rental property that it could increase both four and nine months later.
The ban banned by the card featured trades from Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and JT, Miller among the brand’s players sent to Broadway, but the reward Nash received represents the grand prize in this process.
Ryan Lindgren came from the Bruins during his second season at the University of Minnesota after his selection in the second round in 2016. He included a first-round draft, as did Matt Beleskey and a disadvantaged Spooner. Okay, it looks good, but maybe it’s not that special.
But Gorton led the Bruins ’first round and the Devils’ second round (obtained on the deadline for Michael Grabner) in Ottawa to go from 26th to 22nd overall to select K’Andre Miller. And in November 2018, after a series of bleak performances by Spooner, who never invested in David Quinn’s show, Gorton sent the striker to Edmonton in exchange for Ryan Strome.
So, in essence, Lindgren, Miller and Strome, who were all key ingredients in Friday’s Garden party, with a 6-2 win over the Bruins in front of about 1,800 fans who almost sounded like it was the June 14, 1994, all over again, in exchange for Nash and his expiring contract.
Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
The Blueshirts were even better than this one, playing with intelligence, bragging and controlled fury against a Boston team that has lost four of its last five. They didn’t back down and they didn’t back down either. On the contrary, the Rangers rose up and possessed the battle zones. They owned the neutral zone. Simple plays and straight edges throughout the lineup allowed the talents to thrive.
“No one was backing down tonight,” said Lindgren, who had four hits and a couple of assists on that night of three. “They are a physical team. They like to take the whistle and, you know, do things like that. We did not back down. We were giving it back.
“And we were also smart with our physicality. We weren’t sanctioning fools. It was a great team effort and we came to play tonight.
One of those four credited hits out of a total of 32 Rangers credited (17 in the first period) came with about 40 seconds remaining in the first period, when Lindgren dropped David Pastrnak’s shoulder and boom, sending the Boston winger on the ice as he tried to climb the boards on the right through the neutral zone. Wow. Sorry. Blockage on the way. Pastrnak should have checked Waze.
“I mean, you saw him go down the wall and he knew he would try to get the red [line] and pour it out, “said No. 55.” So I tried to finish my hit and the fans loved it. So I thought it was good. “
Lindgren was considered a marginal prospect when Boston GM Don Sweeney sent him to the Rangers. Reading about him was “great leadership qualities.” He looked like a “great personality,” an exploratory report on a first date. Shortly after the deal, Lindgren left school after sophomore year and joined the AHL Wolf Pack in an amateur test. He spent most of 2018-19 at the AHL before entering the scene early last season.
He has formed a perfect union with Adam Fox, with whom he was a teammate and often a teammate of defense in Team USA’s U17 2015 and 2016 U18 team, and in the U20 team in 2017 and 2018 at the World Juniors. Lindgren is as hard to play as any Rangers defender since Jeff Beukeboom, but his game is more than that.
“My relationship with Ryan goes back to the national show and I knew him a lot as a player and a lot of the intangibles he brought to the game,” Quinn said. “I thought I had a chance to be an NHL player, but this is a guy who has wanted to be a good NHL player in a short amount of time.
“What gives him a lot of merit is that he has adapted. He has leaned in, he is faster, his hands are better. His skating has improved as well as his conditioning. It’s a great addition for Foxy, but I think it would be a great addition for anyone. “
From there, praise to Gorton. Since on the ice were Lindgren, Miller and Strome. Lettermen, by any other name.