Gorton on 2019 Trade Deadline: It's About Flexibility

One year ago, Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton introduced a plan to reshape his club. 365 days later, after the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline had passed, he assessed his progress en route to the ultimate goal that was established in February 2018.
In the summer of 2018, the Rangers made 10 selections at the NHL Entry Draft, including three first-round picks. After this season's trade deadline, the Rangers are stocked with 10 more selections in this year's draft, including five within the first two rounds.
"I think that's a pretty good start to a team trying to rebuild and gain as many young prospects as we can," Gorton told NYRangers.com.

In the lens of reshaping the roster efficiently in order to contend, Gorton indicated that the overall plan remains intact and on schedule.
"I think this trade deadline falls in line with what we've been doing," he said. "We're trying to gain as many assets as we can. We're trying to create some cap flexibility - all different types of scenarios where, as we move forward, it will enable us to get as many selections as we can and hopefully add more players to our team as quickly as we can."
In order to acquire the assets necessary to accelerate the club's long-term progress, Gorton had to make tough decisions over the course of the several months. In the last week, he had to part with players who have become synonymous with both the franchise and the city of New York.
But as a result, Gorton said the Rangers not only have what they need in order to retool; they also have what the rest of the league wants.
"We always talk about flexibility - having picks gives us the flexibility to use them," Gorton said. "To go out and get these young players that are doing so well in the game today, you have to have the picks. Then you also have the opportunity to make trades. You have what people want, and if there's a younger player around the league that we want to go get, we actually have the assets to go get them."
With the trade deadline come and gone, the focus now turns to evaluation - of the current players on the NHL roster, players on the AHL Hartford roster and about 90 players who have been identified as the top-tier prospects available at the 2019 Draft.
Before the postseason evaluation process begins in earnest, though, the Rangers still have 20 games to play until the book closes on the 2018-19 season. For those next 20 games, Gorton fully expects to see his club continue to do what it has done over the course of the last six weeks.
"I think the fans can expect us to continue to play hard and try to win every game that we can," Gorton said. "I think if you look, we're in every game, we're battling hard every night, and it's been pretty exciting to watch some of these guys get better and some of our young players improve every day. I think we'll just continue to do that."
The GM is also eager to see how veterans like Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider continue to flourish as they close out career seasons. In his third year with the Blueshirts, Zibanejad has posted 36 assists and 62 points, both career bests, while establishing a point-per-game pace through three quarters of the season. Kreider, six-plus years into his Rangers tenure, is on pace for a career-high in goals and is currently tied for the team lead in that metric at 26.
"They've essentially been our better players, our best players all year long, and I would look for that to continue - for them to continue to get ice time, to improve, to carry the load for the team as we go forward," Gorton said.
The stretch run will also provide quality time for first-year Head Coach David Quinn to continue to impart his style and his message to players who figure to be key elements of the franchise's success moving forward.
"Coach Quinn has had a huge impact on what we're doing," Gorton said. "When we set out to get a new coach, one of the things we wanted was we wanted a communicator. We wanted somebody who could teach every day and be part of it, helping these players get better, and he's fit in really well. I think the players on this team take on his personality in a lot of ways, and that's how we want to move forward - we want somebody that really wants to help develop these players, and he's done a great job so far."
With a year elapsed since the franchise set its plan into motion, Gorton's focus is firmly rooted in the future, as it has been since the first phases of this process began. There have been ups and downs, but throughout, Gorton has noticed one constant for which he is grateful.
"Ranger fans have been incredibly supportive throughout this process," he said. "I know that sometimes, it may feel like longer, but it's been a year. We've done some good things. We've added a lot of young players.
"We'll continue to do that and continue to build an exciting young team as we move forward in our march to hopefully build that next Stanley Cup champion."