Shayna Goldman: The Rangers continue with the same theme: correcting a slow offseason, which included letting Tyler Motte go as a free agent. After the Tarasenko-Mikkola trade, the next thing for New York to address was their fourth line. Last night’s game against Calgary only emphasized that, when two-thirds of that line saw their night end early in the second period. In Motte, management found one of the better, less expensive options on the market — and a player they can be pretty confident will mesh well with their team considering his experience from last postseason. This time it costs Julien Gauthier and a seventh, after moving a fourth for him last deadline.
In today’s NHL, a fourth line shouldn’t be composed of defense-only forwards. That’s a reactive way of playing the game when the idea should always be to push the pace of play. The best defense legitimately is a good offense, and Motte helps add that element to New York’s depth. He’s a speedy, disruptive winger who can help both at even strength and on the penalty kill.
Motte’s arrival likely would have knocked Julien Gauthier out of the lineup in New York, so him being a part of the return does make sense from that perspective. That’s a player the team should have tried to maximize a bit more because the skill set is there, and he was never a fit for their fourth line. It seems like management has recognized whom the coaches are and aren’t willing to lean on, and (regardless of whether the dynamic should be this way) are working within those bounds to better the team. The question now is whether the Rangers are done. They crossed off another need from their checklist, but fourth-line players keep getting moved to top-six right wing. The bright side is that management has time to figure out how to proceed after seeing how the lineup looks with Motte back in the fold.
Since the Senators aren’t destined for the playoffs, it makes sense to move out pending free agents to ensure a return. Instead of just loading up on picks, given where Ottawa is right now, it makes sense to want younger, NHL-caliber talent. Gauthier’s ceiling probably isn’t as high as it was thought to be when he was drafted, but he’s a speedy winger who can drive to the quality areas of the ice. He could use some help to reach his potential and should get the opportunity with his new team. That’s not a bad return for a pending UFA who slots into a playoff team’s fourth line.
Rangers grade: B+
Senators grade: B
Sean Gentille: My biggest question here is whether Tyler Motte was with the Rangers long enough last year to rent an apartment. Maybe he can get the same one for his second go-round. Fit-wise, he makes perfect sense, just like he did in 2022.
He’s a bottom-six stuff-disturber with a defined skill set — skating, penalty killing, penalty drawing — that every playoff team could use, and the Rangers specifically need more of on their fourth line. It’s not as big a move for Chris Drury as trading for Vladimir Tarasenko was, and it’s not as important, but there’s some shared DNA, too. This was a team that had clear and obvious needs — a top-six, goal-scoring right wing who would push other players back down to their spots of best fit, a bottom-pair option and a player who’d make the fourth line a little more relevant.
In Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola and Motte, they’ve checked all the boxes. By sending out Gauthier, a player Motte might have sent to the press box anyway, they also preserved some salary cap space. The Rangers aren’t quite in step with the tippy-top of the Eastern Conference, but their lineup makes as much sense as anybody’s. This is a dangerous team, and a more playoff-ready group of skaters than the one that worked in front of Igor Shesterkin last season. Look out. Based on fit and opportunity cost, this grades out well for New York.
As far as Ottawa is concerned, the return is fine. Gauthier doesn’t have a track record to get excited about, but he’s 6-foot-4 and a decent skater. That’s worth a roll of the dice, especially for a pending UFA. The fit is good, but … it’s still Tyler Motte. If the goal was to add a player, rather than, say, a fourth-rounder, mission accomplished. I’m not totally sure that should’ve been the goal, but hey, who knows. (We’d mention that Gauthier was a first-round pick as a reason to like this move a little more for the Senators, but that was nearly seven years and two teams ago. At some point it ceases to matter. While we’re on the topic of stuff that doesn’t matter, he played on a junior team with Thomas Chabot.)
Rangers grade: B
Senators grade: B-
(Photo of Tyler Motte during the second round of the 2023 playoffs: Jared Silber/ NHLI via Getty Images)
