Not particularly. So far everything Gorton has done this offseason has been exceeding expectations. His hands were tied, and yet somehow he's made things happen.
Not sure what you consider dumpster diving, but the pickups the team has made are far from that. Unless you were rooting for the team to sign Stamkos, which wasn't realistic in any way, shape, or form.
The forwards are marginally better this year than last, it's not even an argument that could be made. The defense is worse, and I have been saying this since the offseason started, but if he can trade for a young Dman that will be on the team long term, the offseason was as good as it can be.
Girardi and Staal being moved this summer were pipe dreams and nothing more. Maybe next summer
I'm not bagging on Gorton. I know his hands were tied because of his RFA's. And I also know that teams are a work in progress and just because the team may seem incomplete at the end of August, that doesn't mean other moves won't happen during the season...but all that said, I find it hard to give Gorton a summer grade that's much more than average.
The Vesey signing was the stand-out move, one he had to be proactive about and make happen, as opposed to Buchnevich, who I'm not going to give him much credit for.
Brassard for Zibs came out of nowhere - and I have to say I really like Zibs - but trading Brassard for him isn't some no-brainer. Brassard was our highest scorer on the powerplay and also one of the few Rangers who elevated his play in the playoffs.
The bottom six signings don't wow me. Grabner, Gerbe, etc... could just as easily been Vermetter and Hudler and we might have been better off. I mean if Gorton was going to improve the team then maybe he should have started by addressing some of our biggest needs and found a center who could win faceoffs (see Vermette) and try and find some offense from the blueline. The Rangers lost a lot of points when Yandle walked (not to mention Boyle's 10 goals).
In the end, I'm not bent out of shape that all holes haven't been filled. I'm just calling the job Gorton did average to slightly above average.