The Rangers 4th line was bad last year as was the PKing (bad enough it actively lost them games). With the AV plays his lines, having a good 4th line is fairly important to the overall success of the team.
It's not a bunch of big glitzy moves and yes the defense is still a huge glaring problem (which I think Gorton IS trying to work on...just because nothing has happened yet doesn't mean he hasn't been trying. I'm not sure why people always jump to that conclusion) but he was quick to address some of the important flaws in the lineup by acquiring some solid players for that position that bring some speed back to the lineup as well. The Brassard trade was also a good one for the future.
I think calling his offseason so far "masterful" or something is a bit much but he's done some solid work and is saying the right things (getting younger, faster, etc) and I'm sure if he had a good trade to dump a high priced defenseman and pick up a young puck moving guy, he'd do it