The Rangers were in need of a right wing and Jack Roslovic was in need of a platform prior to hitting the summer market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his seven-year career.
Lo and behold, the twain met at the March 8 deadline and instead of being an also-ran with the Blue Jackets, the 27-year-old is running with Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and the Boys in Blue seeking the Stanley Cup.
Serendipity!
“Free agency hasn’t been on my mind but this gives me the opportunity to come in and be in the playoffs and be known as a winner,” the 27-year-old Roslovic, obtained from Columbus in exchange for a conditional third- or fourth-rounder in 2026, told The Post “That’s what this league is all about.
“I’ve seen it. You want guys who are career winners on your team and around the young guys in your organization, so I think this can help me establish my name in that way.
“The priority, though, is winning.”
The Rangers had done a lot of winning since Roslovic’s arrival, taking five of six to lay claim to second overall in the league. But laughter turned to regret at the Garden with Tuesday’s 4-2 empty-net aided defeat to the seventh-overall Jets in which the Blueshirts didn’t quite have the necessary energy and focus to put forth a disciplined 60-minute effort.
The game got away in the second period that was marked by too many errors with and without the puck, low-lighted by the Chris Kreider boo-boo at the offensive line in which hat-tricker Mark Scheifele poked the puck off No. 20’s stick and swept in alone on the right side to beat Igor Shesterkin for a 3-1 lead with just 2:05 to play in the period.
Roslovic, who notched an assist on Alex Wennberg’s power-play goal that tied the match 1-1 at 9:30 of the second for the second unit’s third goal, was secured to fill the spot on the right on the glamour unit with Kreider and Zibanejad. The line had been on for five goals scored and one against in 63:10 of work while establishing a sizable territorial advantage through its ability to gain the zone and work below the hash marks.
“He skates really well, holds onto the puck, makes plays with his head up and is really good with his edges,” said Kreider, second on the club with 33 goals to Artemi Panarin’s 38. “He wants to go north, wants to play quick and generate offense.”
Lines changed, however, for the third. Zibanejad was flanked by Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Roslovic skated with a couple of reshaped combinations with Kreider on the left and either Wennberg or Vincent Trocheck in the middle. This was head coach Peter Laviolette’s response to the tepid second period.
The Hurricanes drubbed the Islanders, so the Rangers’ divisional lead over Carolina is two points with 13 games remaining. The Blueshirts travel to Boston to face the first-overall Bruins on Thursday before returning home Saturday to confront the second-overall Panthers.
Rangers, meet gauntlet.
But before heading to Boston, the Blueshirts will practice Wednesday. It will be the club’s first practice since the deadline. Maybe they could even use it.
“The games are the tests. I was never good at tests,” Roslovic, who matriculated one year at Miami (Ohio), said with a self-deprecating touch. “But the self-awareness I have is that you can learn a lot from those [tests] and you can become very sharp in those.
“Obviously the games are more than learning experiences. We’re here to win games. Yes, it’s unfortunate in some ways we haven’t been able to practice and get those extra reps but I think it’s going well and we’re on a good trajectory.”
Roslovic, a Columbus native selected 25th overall by the Jets in 2015, was on the Blueshirts’ radar at the 2019 deadline when Kevin Hayes was sent to Winnipeg as a rental. Instead of Roslovic, the Rangers acquired Brendan Lemieux in addition to a first-rounder. Five years later, Roslovic is playing with the Rangers’ two most senior players.
Islanders along with Jack Roslovic. Getty Images
“We’re communicating with Jack, understanding our assignments, the smaller things,” Kreider said. “We’re learning whether he wants to work his way back to right wing or if he’s comfortable on the left; or if he’s first guy back, is his comfortable down low and doesn’t need a switch? Details.”
So it’s been trial and error, with errors generally minimized. The Rangers are gearing up for the playoffs and, for the first time since 2020 when he was in Winnipeg, so is Roslovic.
“It’s hard not to acknowledge that I didn’t fall into a great situation because I know that I did,” No. 96 said while employing a double-negative to describe a wholly positive turn of events. “I went from 28th in the league to second. “The team did a lot of hard work in order to be there.
“I’m just trying to mesh as well and as fast as I can within that culture. That’s my responsibility.”
