Though the Rangers’ defense corps has largely been set in stone the past few seasons, the left side of the third pair has seen a plethora of players come and go.
Enter Erik Gustafsson, the latest candidate to vie for the spot alongside a still-green Braden Schneider, who has been a staple on the bottom duo since he made his NHL debut when he was just 20 years old, during the second half of the 2021-22 season.
While going through Brendan Smith, Anthony Bitetto, Jack Johnson, Tarmo Reunanen, Jarred Tinordi, Patrik Nemeth, Libor Hajek, Justin Braun, Zac Jones and Ben Harpur, the Rangers haven’t had a blueliner convincingly seize that role since Marc Staal.
Jones and Harpur are the only players on that list who are still under contract with the organization, and they’ll both be in the mix for the job, along with Gustafsson, when training camp rolls around in September.
Gustafsson, however, may have a leg up on Jones and Harpur considering his preexisting connection with the Rangers new head coach Peter Laviolette.
Gustafsson laced up for 61 games in 2022-23 with the Capitals during Laviolette’s final season as Washington head coach.
He was later traded to the Maple Leafs in the days leading up to the trade deadline, which marked his sixth team in the past four seasons.
Those 61 contests last season represented the most the Swede has played in the NHL since 2018-19, when he was in his third season with the Blackhawks, the only club Gustafsson has spent more than just a season with.
After parts of four seasons in Chicago, Gustafsson was dealt to the Flames at the trade deadline in 2019-20.
He then made brief stops in Philadelphia and Montreal before returning to the Blackhawks.
In his previous go-around with the Blackhawks, who brought him back after a professional tryout with the Islanders didn’t work, Gustafsson, in 2021-22, was one of 11 defensemen to appear in 50 or more games, average less than 17 minutes of ice time per contest and record at least 15 points.
The 6-foot, 197-pounder scored three goals and dished out 15 assists while averaging 16:13 of ice time per game.
That’s just above the 15:38 of ice time Schneider has averaged over the past two seasons. Gustafsson is believed to be most successful when playing under limited minutes, which fits the bill of a third-pair role.
Like Jones, Gustafsson can move the puck and quarterback a power play. Also like Jones, the defensive zone is not his strongest area.
Neither defenseman is very physical, but you know who is? Harpur.
Laviolette will have his pick of the litter when finalizing his defense.
The question is whether he wants to go with the offense-minded D-man he knows best, the young blueliner who is said to have offensive potential, or the big-bodied and hard-hitting defenseman.
Gustafsson will presumably earn the first look out of training camp, with Jones serving in a depth role on the roster.
Unless something unforeseen happens, that will likely lead to the Rangers putting Harpur on waivers in order to send him to Hartford.
The Rangers will be the seventh NHL team Gustafsson has played for as he embarks on his eighth year in the league.
Reuniting with Laviolette is expected to bode well for him, but nothing is guaranteed.
The Rangers aren’t looking to put Jones on waivers out of training camp, and the University of Massachusetts product should get a chance to prove his worth at some point.
At 31, Gustafsson probably isn’t going to be part of the Rangers’ long-term plan, but it’ll be interesting to see where he measures up to the very long list of his predecessors.