With Adam Fox out until at least Christmas after landing on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, the New York Rangers are reportedly on the lookout for a puck-moving defenseman.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Erik Gustafsson is a defenseman that has been linked to the Rangers.
“I’ve heard that the Rangers, with Adam Fox being out, are seeing if there’s something they can find for a power-play quarterback,” Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “They got a big win over Ottawa on Thursday night, they had only one power play and were 0-for-1 on it, hardly much of a sample size, but I do think they are looking for somebody out there.
“One of the names I kind of heard being thrown around is Erik Gustafsson, which would make some sense. He’s in the American Hockey League and they know him.”
Gustafsson played for the Rangers during the 2023-24 season, recording six goals, 25 assists, and 31 points in 76 games while averaging 16:19 minutes.
During his brief tenure in New York, Gustafsson served a role on the power play, which partly explains why he’s an enticing trade target for the Blueshirts.
Following the 2023-24 campaign, Gustafsson signed a two-year $4 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
However, the 33-year-old defenseman has spent the majority of this season in the American Hockey League after struggling to find his footing last year in The Motor City.
The Rangers currently are running a five-forward first power-play unit featuring Artemi Panarin, Miaka Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Will Cuylle.
Scott Morrow and Braden Schneider have both played on the second power-play unit, but Mike Sullivan doesn't appear to have much confidence throwing them out there on the first power-play unit.
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“We don't think that's the strength of their games to this point,” Sullivan said of why Schneider or Morrow are not playing on the first power-play unit. “We're trying to put a power play together that we think gives us the best opportunity to have success. Obviously, Foxy, I think, is an elite power-play defenseman, with how he distributes the puck up there, the way he sees the game. He's got really good instincts. We don't necessarily think that that's the strength of some of the guys you just mentioned.”
If acquired by the Rangers, Gustafsson has the capabilities and experience to step right into a power-play role, making the potential of trading for the veteran defenseman something Chris Drury must strongly consider.