The strength of the 2002-03 Devils was on their back end. New Jersey had a six-deep defense that featured The Great Scotts in Stevens and Niedermayer, plus Brian Rafalski, Colin White, Ken Daneyko, Oleg Tverdovsky and Tommy Albelin playing in front of a prime-time Martin Brodeur.

The club was hurting up front, though, its 216-goal output good for eighth in the East and 14th overall in the NHL. Top-scorer Patrik Elias recorded 57 points, the lowest total to pace the Devils since the franchise’s first year in New Jersey in 1982-83 when Aaron Broten led with 55 points.

Still, the Devils were in Cup contention playing a strict matchup defensive style under Pat Burns that by comparison made previous coach Jacques Lemaire look like a wild and crazy guy. As the trade deadline approached, general manager Lou Lamoriello was obviously seeking a top gun.

No, he obviously was not. Instead, Lamoriello acquired depth defenseman Dickie Smehlik from the Sabres and bottom-sixer Grant Marshall from the Blue Jackets. Instead of filling a notable weakness, the Devils doubled down on their strengths.

Sixteen playoff victories later, New Jersey had won its third Stanley Cup in its nine-year run of excellence with Marshall proving a key piece up front and Smehlik dressing for five games in the tournament.

Nineteen years later, across the Hudson, the Rangers approach the March 21 trade deadline with a need for a top-six right wing to bolster their five-on-five attack. While Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider represent marquee assets up front, the club’s strength lays on its back end, with Igor Shesterkin in net behind a group featuring Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider.

Indeed, the Blueshirts entered Tuesday night’s match at the Garden against Anaheim 18th overall in goals per game, 22nd in five-on-five goals, and third in goals against per game. So it stands to reason that general manager Chris Drury (yes, president, too) would be looking to fill that top-six right-side cavity.

And Drury probably will attempt to do just that if the price is right. We have, though, been told by an individual familiar with the Rangers’ approach that the GM is loathe to use a blue-chip asset in exchange for a rental such as the Ducks’ Rickard Rakell, the 28-year-old who was Zibanejad’s linemate with Team Sweden in the 2018 World Championships.

There is also a desire to improve what has been a washout third line for most of the season, with Andrew Copp or maybe even Alex Radulov a potential rental to address that matter. Here’s the question, though: If the Blueshirts do acquire a top-sixer plus a third-liner, where does Kaapo Kakko go upon his still TBD return from injured reserve, or is that Alexis Lafreniere? That’s for another day.

But I have gotten the sense over the last couple of weeks that notable concerns have developed around the defense, perhaps more so regarding the collective five-man approach but also focused on the blue-line corps. Maybe it was perceived lack of depth up front that prompted head coach Gerard Gallant to dress seven defensemen both in Winnipeg on March 6 and in Dallas on Saturday, but that decision also speaks of the need for back-end insurance.

Still, the Rangers had surrendered 15 goals in the three games leading into Tuesday and had allowed three goals or more in five of their last seven contests after yielding that many only once in the seven games before that. The number of Grade-A scoring chances faced by Igor Shesterkin (and/or Alexandar Georgiev) have mounted in conjunction with poor puck-management decisions and coverage errors in the defensive zone.

The Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox top pair has faltered over the last several weeks but there is no legitimate option to take Lindgren’s spot on the club’s first matchup tandem. No legitimate option on the roster now, that is.

So I wonder if Drury’s priority should be to add a lend-lease left defenseman who ideally would represent a third-pair improvement over Patrik Nemeth but could also handle the responsibility of playing up top across from Fox if necessary. Yes, I am thinking of Seattle’s Mark Giordano and Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm.

The Ducks traded right defenseman Josh Manson to Colorado on Monday as a rental in exchange for a 2023 second-rounder and Boston College defenseman Drew Helleson, the U.S. Olympian who is projected to be a third-pair guy in the NHL.

Does that translate to a package of a second this year — the Blueshirts have their own and St. Louis’ — plus maybe Matthew Robertson for either Giordano or Lindholm? Is Robertson considered a blue-chip asset? That is probably more than Drury would pay to rent a forward, but it may not be an overpay for a defenseman who can play matchup minutes on the first pair.

That’s where I’d keep my focus as March 21 approaches.