The first big domino has fallen, and the Rangers were still publicly playing it cool.
As Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline bears down on the NHL, and even after the Senators dealt winger Matt Duchene to the all-in Blue Jackets on Friday afternoon, the Blueshirts held the party line. That means coach David Quinn continues to expect his lineup for Saturday’s matinee at the Garden against the Devils to contain those key pieces of the club’s the roster, including forwards Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, along with defenseman Adam McQuaid, who are more than likely going to be traded.
“As I stand in front of you today,” Quinn said after Friday’s practice, “guys that are on the roster will be in the lineup, until I’m told differently.”
It has been a tough few weeks for the Rangers, who have had to deal with all of the noise concerning the future of their teammates, most notably Zuccarello and Hayes. The group has held it together pretty well, but a desultory 4-1 loss to the Wild at the Garden on Thursday night might have been the culmination of the mentally trying time catching up to them.
“It’s going to be hard not to be distracted,” said defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who went through this whole thing when he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals just before the 2017 deadline. “We have to keep our heads on straight and focus.”
It briefly seemed Thursday as if the club’s plan of playing the trade pieces before the deadline was backfiring. McQuaid got hurt late in the first period and didn’t return. Quinn calmed those nerves after the game, saying McQuaid was “actually fine” and only held out due to “precaution.” The hulking righty-shooting defenseman, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent, was a full participant in Friday’s practice.
But it seems like the precaution is not extending to Saturday — assuming none of the above-mentioned players has been traded by then. The Rangers then go to Washington for a Sunday afternoon match before having Monday off to sit by their phones and wait.
“It’s the reality of the league,” said Quinn, whose only other experience with this time of the year in the NHL was when he was an assistant with the Avalanche in 2012-13. “I went through it as an assistant, but it’s a whole different situation when you’re driving the bus, not a passenger on it. It’s real. Every team is going through it. We’re not the only team going through this.”
The market is clearing up a little bit now that Duchene has been moved for a first-round pick, two prospects, and another conditional first-round pick if he ends up signing a new contract with Columbus. The Senators also hold another key cog in establishing the market with winger Mark Stone, who is likely to bring back a little bit less than that.
Some teams that logically are interested in Stone also are looking at Hayes — including, but not limited to, the Bruins and Jets. If Stone moves first, expect Hayes to be not far behind.
And expect there to be little hesitation from outside bidders to up an offer for Zuccarello once things start moving. After a slow start to the season — with the likelihood of a trade hanging over the head of the sensitive and thoughtful Norwegian — Zuccarello has since played his best hockey since the New Year. That is a fact surely noticed around the league.
“It’s not easy to do what he did and turn it around. He struggled early, he was the first guy to admit it,” Quinn said. “To be able to do what he’s done over the last several weeks, it almost confirms everything we know about him.”
For now, the plan is to not let the inevitable moves affect the current lineup. But of course that could change at any moment, which is what makes it tough to actually take the ice.
“We’re all humans, emotions play a big part in,” Quinn said. “Not only for the guys that have been talked about that might be on the move, but guys that they have been here with for a long time. It affects everybody.”