In what seemed like an inevitable reunion from day one and only picked up steam with time, the NY Rangers have reacquired F Tyler Motte from the Ottawa Senators for F Julien Gauthier and a conditional 2023 7th round pick (becomes the lower of the NYR’s two 6th round picks if Rangers make it past the first round.)
Tyler Motte became a 4th line folk hero of sorts last year after being acquired by the Rangers at the deadline from the Vancouver Canucks. He brought the fast-paced, gritty style the Rangers crave and seemed to fit in from the start, despite being injured at the end of the year for a significant amount of time.
Julien Gauthier goes the other way to Ottawa after an enigmatic tenure with the Rangers. Blessed with elite speed and a penchant for driving the net, those traits never entirely translated into the production the Rangers were seeking from him. He was adept at drawing penalties and showed a little more offensive skill this year, but the promise still outweighed the performance.
Motte will undoubtedly be added to the fourth line that currently deploys Barclay Goodrow and, for now, Jake Leschyshyn. However, that will likely be subject to change, as Leschyshyn’s impact has been minimal.
It’s possible the Rangers may fill that role from within (Jonny Brodzinski?), yet even with limited cap space; the Blueshirts could have one more move up their sleeves. Additionally, Vitali Kravtsov still looms as a possible trade asset if they feel there is one more hole to plug.
Until then, Motter Szn is in full effect.
