We know that Rangers will bring in new players through at least two routes this summer.
The first is the NHL Draft, which will take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday. The second is free agency, which will open at noon on July 1st.
These events are marked on the calendar, with Blueshirts team president Chris Drury sure to use both to acquire pieces for the present and future. But there is a third method of acquiring players with a much more fluid timeline and potentially franchise-altering implications.
The trade market is the big unknown of the offseason. General managers will make tons of calls and come up with all kinds of ideas, but very few of them will materialize into agreed-upon agreements.
This makes it difficult to predict. Many teams will go the entire summer without executing any major trades — but for the Rangers, who have multiple positions they would like to fill and limited salary cap space to do so, additional creativity may be needed to round out their roster for Stanley Cup form. .
Their trade sheets are somewhat limited, but the belief around the league is that both forward Kaapo Kakko and defenseman Jacob Trouba are available on the right deal. Restricted free agent Ryan Lindgren could also fall into that category, along with this year’s first-round pick at No. 30 overall and any prospect not named Gabe Perreault. No one should be surprised if Drury parts ways with a key veteran, although the odds are significantly higher for those maintaining full or partial no-movement clauses.
“Everything is on the table,” he said earlier this month.
League sources who spoke to lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, believe there is more than a 50% chance that the Rangers have made at least one trade this offseason, with Kakko being the betting favorite if it involves the departure of an active player. of the cast. York. But opinions vary on which team they are most likely to find common ground on.
Source:Alexis Lafrenière and Rangers postpone contract extension negotiations
Drury has earned a reputation for being meticulous, so you can be sure he’s exploring every option in his effort to turn the Presidents’ Trophy winners into champions. Based on what’s happening around the league, what I’m hearing and my own connections, here are seven teams the Rangers have reason to check out:
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are desperate for defensemen, and while there’s a good chance Trouba has them on the 15 no-trade list he’ll send out by July 1, Lindgren could definitely have some appeal. We also know there were discussions involving Kakko before the March trade deadline.
Meanwhile, Anaheim has some interesting forwards who could be sent east.
Frank Vatrano is an obvious candidate that the Rangers have continued interest in. He would be a cost-effective 1RW entering the final year of a deal that pays him $3.65 million, but the Ducks have a handful of younger options.
Would Drury take a chance on the Bedford native? Zegras Clovers? It would be a cool story, but the 23-year-old’s delicate game doesn’t mesh with the “heavier, more physical” style the GM has said he wants to achieve. That gives me pause.
Leo Carlssonthe second overall pick in last year’s draft is certainly off limits, but there is a world where Anaheim offers offers to any of the young forward trio that includes Sam Colangelo, Gauthier cutter It is Mason McTavish?
Calgary Flames
The Flames have been open for a few years now, with the next departure rumored to involve winger Andre Mangiapane. He scored 35 goals in 2021-22 to earn a three-year extension worth $17.4 million, but has seen those goal totals drop to 17 and 14 over the past two seasons, respectively.
The 28-year-old still has recorded 40 points or more for three consecutive years, brings more speed and could be an effective addition in the right situation. But unless Calgary is willing to retain some of its $5.8 million cap hit, that money might be better spent on a more consistent offensive force.
Egor Sharangovich is an intriguing name who had better production last season. He is also in the final year of his contract, but comes with a more manageable cap hit of $3.1 million. The Flames may be inclined to hold on to the 26-year-old winger after he recorded a career-high 59 points (31 goals, 28 assists), but he appears to be a trade chip at some point if they don’t move forward on an extension. . Maybe that time is now.
Colorado avalanche
Just like the Rangers, the Avalanche are very much in winning mode right now. This makes it unlikely they would trade a utility player for future assets, but perhaps there is a hockey trade to be had.
center Ross Colton is rumored to be available and would provide the two-way depth New York needs in the middle. Would Kakko and the resulting savings — he’s projected to make $1.6 million less than Colton next season — be enough to entice Colorado into a trade?
The Rangers’ main hesitation would be their own multiyear financial plan. Colton is on the books for three more seasons at an average annual value of $4 million, which could be problematic when their expected salary cap crunch for the 2025-26 season comes into play.
Nashville Predators
I’m not sure if there are any players on the Preds roster who are available and make sense for the Rangers, but I wonder if they could be a possible option for Trouba.
Nashville recently traded veteran Ryan McDonagh back to Tampa and has a couple of right-handed defensemen heading toward free agency in Tyson Barrie and Alexandre Carrier, leaving holes to fill on their blue line. He also has more than $26 million in cap space available, according to PuckPedia, giving the Predators the sixth-highest cap space of any team this offseason. Additionally, they have eight selections in the first four rounds of this week’s draft, giving them plenty of options to use in a potential trade.
There have been no firm indications that the Preds are interested, with at least one top-six forward considered their top priority. But if Trouba is on the radar, they have all the ingredients to make it work.
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk is the name many Rangers fans dream of, but there doesn’t seem to be much appetite for it from the Senators. If that were to change, it is believed that Drury would be all-in.
On the other hand, if upgrading D Corps is on New York’s to-do list, there may be a match.
There are few defense targets as attractive as Jakob Chychrun when taking into account advantages and costs. The 26-year-old is entering the final year of a deal that involves a reasonable AAV of $4.6 million and would immediately become a top-four Ranger for the Rangers, adding size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), mobility and puck skills they covet.
The downside is that there will be competition for your services, which will certainly increase the asking price.
Utah Hockey Club
The NHL’s newest franchise (formerly the Arizona Coyotes) does not have any defensemen under contract who finished last season on the roster. That leaves several open positions on the back end and tons of space available to fill them – a record $40.85 million, to be exact.
They’re one of the few teams that could face Trouba’s $8 million cap hit without flinching, but there’s a chance the captain could use his modified NTC to veto any move to Salt Lake City. Lindgren doesn’t have the same power and could be optioned for the right deal, just like Zac Jones.
What Utah does have are some unheralded forwards who still have a year or two left on their contracts, including Nick Schmaltz ($5.85 million AAV), Alex Kerfoot ($3.5 million), Nick Bjugstad (US$ 2.1 million) and Jack McBain ($1.59 million). Bjugstad, in particular, is a target the Rangers have already shown interest in.
Winnipeg Jets
Most likely, the striker who will supposedly be available via negotiation this summer is Nikolaj Ehlers, who posted seven seasons with 20+ goals. He is considered one of the Jets’ best offensive linemen, with consistently strong metrics to back him up, though some question his overall effort last season.
There’s a lot to like, but there’s also reason to proceed with caution. The 28-year-old winger’s playoff performances have been underwhelming, with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 37 career appearances, and a $6 million AAV for the final year of his contract may be a bit higher than the Rangers would like to pay.
Maybe they prefer the younger and cheaper one Rutger McGroarty. Reports surfaced last week that the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft wants to be traded, with the 6-foot-1, 205-pound player displaying many traits that should appeal to the Blueshirts.
The 20-year-old has been a high-level producer for both the University of Michigan (52 points in 36 games last season) and Team USA (nine points in seven games while captaining the World Junior gold-winning team), earning many of those points by attacking the high-danger areas of the ice. It all adds up to a strong kid with plenty of skill who looks ready to go pro, and we know Drury loves the USNTDP product.
The main hurdle will be whether the Rangers have the resources to pull it off. They have just one pick in the first three rounds of this week’s draft and may struggle to match offers from teams with more capital.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the USA TODAY Network’s New York Rangers reporter. Read more about his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
