Written by Dave Caldwell at New York Times.com
Just 14 months after he was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a multiplayer deal, Derick Brassard helped the Rangers roll into the 2014 Stanley Cup finals. As a reward, Brassard received a five-year, $25 million contract, and it appeared as if he would be in New York for at least that long.
But the Rangers slid backward. They were ousted in the Eastern Conference finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 and then ignominiously eliminated in five games by the eventual Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the first round in April.
So 17 days after fortifying the roster with role players at the start of free agency, the Rangers made their first dynamic move of the off-season on Monday, dealing Brassard, 28, to the Ottawa Senators for the 23-year-old Swedish center Mika Zibanejad.
“We talked about if we could get younger and faster and not give up too much, that’s something we would do,” Jeff Gorton, the Rangers’ general manager, said in a conference call. “I know the perception was to overhaul the team, but I don’t know how realistic that is.”
He added: “I’m not sitting here and mandated to change 10 things. This is an opportunity to get better, and that’s why we took it.”
But Gorton also sounded as if he might not be finished looking for trades. At one point on Monday, he noted that it was the middle of July — too early to judge the team as it was comprised.
Gorton clearly liked Monday’s trade, which also included the Rangers acquiring a second-round pick in the 2018 N.H.L. draft while sending a 2018 seventh-round pick to Ottawa. Zibanejad has scored 41 goals in the last two seasons combined, while improving on faceoffs.
“I think the potential is there for more,” Gorton said. “He’s just scratched the surface before he is 23.”
Brassard and Zibanejad were first-round draft picks, sixth over all. Zibanejad was drafted by the Senators in 2011, five years after Brassard. Brassard led the Rangers in goals last year with a career-high 27, and Zibanejad scored a career-high 21 for the Senators.
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