A Jeff Gorton trade became one of the biggest steals in the NHL for the Rangers

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Jeff Drouin
May 28, 2022 (1:18)

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The New York Rangers have made tremendous progress, quickly, since the start of their famous rebuild.

They can now hope to reach the Eastern finals, and this is due in part to the brilliance of Mika Zibanejad, who is (by far) the Rangers' best forward since the beginning of the playoffs.

As reported by my colleague Christian Matte (Marqueur.com), it was a certain Jeff Gorton who acquired Zibanejad.

On July 18, 2016, the Rangers sent, to the Ottawa Senators, forward Derick Brassard and a 7th round pick in 2018, in return for:

- A 2nd round pick in 2018 (which became Brendan Smith) and most importantly, Mika Zibanejad!

At that point, Gorton was very bright. He then traded a veteran, who was playing well but was on a downward slope, and went out and got a youngster, who was slow to explode but was loaded with talent and potential.

Today, it's easy to see that this trade was a true daylight robbery by Gorton.

Zibanejad is now a first star center in the NHL, with 81 points in 81 games this season (29 goals) and 15 points in 12 games during the 2022 playoffs.

Good thing the Rangers have him, and they can thank Jeff Gorton (of the Montreal Canadiens) for that. Can't wait to see if he can hit another such home run for the Tricolore.

A trade that certainly became one of the biggest steals in the NHL (at least one of the biggest steals in the last ten years) and it continues to make a difference for the Rangers to this day.