New York Rangers Trade Target: Los Angeles Kings’ Jake Muzzin
The Kings need scoring help and the New York Rangers need defensive help. Hey, these teams might make good trade partners!
The New York Rangers have one of, if not the deepest forward groups in the NHL. They have eight forwards who have scored 11 goals or more this season, which leads the league. They also have 12 players who have tallied more than twenty points so far, almost three-quarters of the way through the season.
While that is all fine and dandy, their defense is not.
Aside from Ryan McDonagh, Brady Skjei and Nick Holden–who only had one legit stretch of offense this season–they are extremely thin on defensive prowess, both on the offensive side of things as well as the defensive side of things.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the Los Angeles Kings are in the complete opposite situation. Their defense is pretty deep, especially with offensive talent. They have three defensemen with at least seven goals–the most in the league.
On the other hand, they have one of the most futile forward groups in the league. They are tied for 24th in the league in goals scored, which has commonly been their biggest bugaboo over the years.
The Kings have only two forwards with double-digit goals scored on the year and just seven players who have tallied 20+ points, one of which being defenseman Drew Doughty.
So there is definitely a good match here between these two teams to work out a trade. Apparently, the Rangers agree. There have been reports surfacing all month about Rangers scouts being at Kings games. Who are they looking at, you may ask? It could very well be Jack Muzzin.
Why Muzzin makes sense
One of the top defenseman that the Kings have on their roster is Jake Muzzin. Muzzin, who will turn 28 in just a few days has been a regular on the Kings blueline since 13-14. He is a veteran puck mover who is solid defensively, fits the Rangers timeline for competitiveness with his age and has Stanley Cup winning experience.
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Muzzin is also on a very team friendly deal that runs through the 2019-20 season at a cap hit of $4 million. Why would the Kings try to ship him out? I’m not sure, but you have to be excited about it if you are a general manager.
Muzzin’s 7 goals and 17 assists would be good for the 2nd on the Rangers in goals, and fourth in point and assists among defenseman.
Muzzin has been great in his own end this season, too. He has a 49.75 CA60, which means he does a good job of keeping the puck out of the defensive end, albeit on a very good puck possession team, which definitely helps that stat.
Muzzin is a left shot, but even though the Rangers’ real need at the position calls for a righty, Muzzin can still be very useful and a guy like Brady Skjei, who can play both sides, can take the right side for now.
What Kind of Trade Would Work?
So back to what I was saying at the top. With the Rangers surplus at forward being what it is, coupled with the Kings’ surplus of puck-moving defenders, maybe a trade could be worked out between the two teams.
I don’t think the Kings would do a Rick Nash for Jake Muzzin deal straight up, but I think that could be the basis for a trade. Nobody knows how much the Kings value Muzzin, so it’s kind of hard to make an appropriate trade scenario here.
The one thing that should give Rangers fans faith, though, is that if Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi has Muzzin on the trade market, he obviously doesn’t value him like he should.
Rick Nash is obviously a phenomenal player, but he has only one more year on his contract. By trading him, the Rangers would open up a space to protect Micahel Grabner. He is also the oldest forward of the Rangers young corps, so it is unknown whether the Rangers have him in their future plans anyway.
Next: Rangers Trade Targets: Ryan Ellis
Could maybe a Rick Nash, Kevin Klein and a mid to low level prospect get a trade done here? Maybe. Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton should call and find out.