There have been more of these utilitarian-type deadlines for the Rangers than you probably remember. Not every one of these thresholds sees a Derick Brassard coming, a Marian Gaborik going, a Marty St. Louis coming, a Ryan Callahan or a Ryan McDonagh or a J.T. Miller going and a Patrick Kane coming.
Some are like 2008, when Freddie Sjostrom was the main attraction. Some are like 2011, when Bryan McCabe and John Mitchell came to Broadway. Some are like the 2004 purge.
And some are like this year, when general manager Chris Drury made sure to get a return on impending free agents Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and Reilly Smith — none of whom were going to re-up — while at the same time fortifying the roster for a run at a playoff spot and leaving the heavy lifting for the summer.
The Rangers enter this post-deadline weekend with the 18th-ranked record (.540) in the NHL. That’s not a bunch the hierarchy would go all in on. But at the same time, the Blueshirts also have the fifth-ranked record in the league since Jan. 1 (15-7-4, .654). That’s not a group the GM would necessarily have cut off at the knees, either.