NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 1: Boo Nieves #24 of the New York Rangers shoots the puck against Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Buffalo Sabres during the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field on January 1, 2018 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: What if the team had landed Stamkos in 2010

New York Rangers: What if the team had landed Stamkos in 2010 by Nicholas Zararis

After starting the season off strong with the New York Rangers, their former second round pick was sent down to the minors and was never seen again at the NHL level.

Boo Nieves was playing some strong minutes on the fourth line to start the season.

Although his stat line only shows one goal and eight assists in 28 games after being called up from Hartford on October 24, he contributed to a fourth line that played some pretty darn good hockey at the time.

Nieves was an excellent forechecker and created more takeaways (15) than giveaways (9). He was very reliable in the defensive end. Alain Vigneault started Nieves in the defensive zone for 56.1 percent of his shifts.

And, I mean, this wrister on his first NHL goal was beautiful.

But despite his solid play, the team opted to send him down and simultaneously bring Peter Holland to the NHL level on January 15. At that point, we never saw Nieves again in an NHL lineup. This was very shocking considering the Rangers dealt three forwards at the trade deadline, dealt with multiple injuries, and that his replacements didn’t do much of anything.

Nieves finished the season in Hartford. He tallied 21 points in 40 games with the Wolf Pack.

What’s the move going forward?

Unless sending him down and keeping him in Hartford was an Alain Vigneault move, I’d be worried about Nieves’ future on Broadway. If the team didn’t utilize him post-trade deadline when they needed bodies, then when will they ever use him?

To me–and this is just my gut saying this– I think Nieves probably gets traded this offseason.

I like Nieves a lot. I think he is a very solid fourth liner who could really help this team. With that said, the Rangers are now loaded with center depth. Just on the NHL roster alone they have Mika ZIbanejad, Kevin Hayes, Vladislav Namestnikov, Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson. That’s not to mention that Ryan Spooner is actually a natural center and prospect Brett Howden seems to be on the way.

Nieves’ potential saving grace is that he can also play on the wing. But the part I just cannot get my head around is why the Rangers would leave him in Hartford last season.

Nieves turned 24 in January. The former second rounder obviously hasn’t lived up to the draft day hype. He can still be a very effective NHL player, though.

Hopefully, it’s on Broadway where he reaches his potential. That possibility is looking bleak, however.