Cody McLeod (?!) Has Been Traded

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Ah, hooo, hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha.

Wipes tears from eyes

Ha. Aha. Hahah. Uhhhhhhahaha this is so much to digest. Hooooo boy. Hang with me here.

The pick, which turns out to be a 2020 7th rounder, is practically meaningless in the long run. It couldn’t be less important.

But, before we talk about what actually is important, just take a gander at this real quick.

They got anything for that? How? Why? It defies logic. But this is the world we live in, and it’s such a fascinating world.

Anyway, on a more serious note, the most important part of trading Cody McLeod is the roster spot it now opens up, and how it changes the make-up of the Rangers fourth line.

Much to all of our frustrations, Cody McLeod has been a fixture as David Quinn’s fourth line left wing, often at the expense of who was playing center (Brett Howden and, most recently Boo Nieves) and the opposite wing (Pavel Buchnevich chief among them). Simply subtracting McLeod from that line is going to help everyone who plays with him, especially Nieves – who has played some of his best hockey over the last couple of weeks.

More importantly, however, it opens up a roster spot.

If the Rangers want to go like-for-like, they could kick the ball a little further down the field and bring back Matt Beleskey from Hartford. Beleskey is far from perfect, but he fits the mold of Quinn wanting someone with an edge on the fourth line while also occasionally doing hockey things that could help his linemates. Beleskey was always the guy who made more sense to serve the edge role in the Rangers line-up, but either the team wanted to bury as much of his contract as possible this year, or who knows.

Preferably, the Rangers would embrace the youth movement and decide to call up a younger winger. Tim Gettinger’s long-term role with the Rangers may not be anything more than a bottom six winger who brings a snarl to the ice, and while it’s still too early to seal his fate in that box, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to get limited minutes next to Nieves and whoever else occupies the 4th line spot.

Vinni Lettieri doesn’t do a whole lot, and was easily one of the worst Rangers forwards in the non-McLeod category when he had his chance earlier this year.

The popular call for minutes on the Rangers farm is going to be Ville Meskanen. In what has been a fantastically terrible season for the Wolfpack, Meskanen has been a bright spot. He’s managed 28 points in 48 games this year, and has seen his production increase as the season goes on. He’s earned a look, and one has to think it’s coming sooner or later. Should the Rangers decide now is the time, great. If they want to wait until they find new homes for other wingers (Zuccarello at least, maybe Namestnikov as well), I could see that as well.

To answer the lingering Lias Andersson question, no. I don’t see that call-up right now. Andersson needs more than 4th line minutes, and those will be available when Kevin Hayes exits New York. For now, it doesn’t benefit Lias’s development for him to be shoehorned back into the same role he struggled with earlier this year. Patience is the name of the game there, so I personally wouldn’t even consider that an option at this time.

Best-case scenario: a chance for Meskanen to come up and be eased into a bigger role as the trade deadline approaches.

Most-likely scenario: Beleskey returns to serve as fourth-line grit.

Worst-case scenario: One does not exist. Cody McLeod is gone. We good, fam.

UPDATE – just as I was about to hit publish, the Rangers announced Lettieri will be the call-up. Yeah, that’s fine, sure.