The San Jose Sharks visit the New York Rangers on Thursday, which marks the first time Barclay Goodrow will be back at Madison Square Garden since he was put on waivers and claimed by the Sharks during the offseason. His three-year tenure with the Blueshirts came to an abrupt end, but in fact, his time with the Rangers was always doomed. Here’s a look at some of the reasons why Goodrow was never going to work out with the Rangers from the moment they traded for his signing rights.
Signing a Six-Year Deal as a Fourth Line Player
In the 2021 offseason, new general manager Chris Drury wanted to add some toughness and Stanley Cup-winning experience to a young and up-and-coming roster. This is why he went out and acquired Goodrow’s signing rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was coming off back-to-back championships and was a key player on the Lightning’s third line with Blake Coleman and Yanni Gourde. At first, fans were excited about the acquisition as Goodrow was the kind of player the team was lacking. However, all of that excitement faded once his contract was announced.
He signed a six-year contract worth roughly $3.6 million per season – a huge overpayment for someone who would never be more than a bottom-six player on a good team. The Rangers ended up paying the “Stanley Cup” tax, and from that moment forward, fans were against him. He was never going to produce up to his contract, and he was never going to see it end with the Rangers.
Played a Bigger Role Than Anticipated
During his time with the Rangers, Goodrow often played higher in the lineup because the two coaches he had in New York, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette, thought he could do more in a bigger role. However, this was not the case, and he looked abysmal playing with some of the other top players on the roster, most notably on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He should have never been asked to play in that role, but since some of the younger players were struggling or not being used correctly by the coaches, most notably Gallant, Goodrow had to step up, but it wasn’t his strong suit.
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The reason he worked so well in Tampa Bay was that he played a role that suited his style. He was on a shut-down third line that played hard and physical, facing the opposition’s top lines. His line could also score if needed. Goodrow never had that same line in New York and was never as effective as he was with the Lightning. The Rangers asked too much of him at times, and it backfired.
An Unexpected Ending To His Rangers’ Tenure
After losing in the Eastern Conference Final to the Florida Panthers last season, the Rangers wanted to shake up their core and move on from some of their bigger contracts. They also needed to move money to pay some of their players. The only real offseason move management made was putting Goodrow on waivers – which meant they didn’t have to give up an asset in a trade or buy out his deal, leaving dead cap space on the books for a long time.
Even though he was one of the Rangers’ better performers against the Panthers, with three goals in six games, the team needed to move on from somebody, and his deal was the easiest to get off the books. While multiple reports suggested he was shocked by the move, the NHL is a business, and moves like this happen every season. He played three seasons with the Rangers and has three years left on his deal that the Sharks now have to pay.
Goodrow had good moments with the Rangers, like his overtime goal in Game 2 vs. Florida, but most of the time, he was an average player, making way too much money in a role that wasn’t suited to his game. While the Rangers will likely give him a thank you message upon his return, his time with the team was doomed from the start, and now, both sides should be happy to have moved on.
