New York Rangers Trade Deadline Pipe Dreams

It is almost trade deadline day, so it is perfectly normal for a fan base to be going crazy about all the rumors surrounding their favorite team. We Rangers fans are no exception, in fact, we may take this day a bit more seriously than many other fan bases. The reality is that this day may prove to be more crucial than it has been during previous years. Is the window closing? Is it still opened? If so how long will it be open for? These are all questions that we Rangers fans will have a better handle on in the next few days.

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For now though, we can still talk about all the trade rumors, while we pretend to be GM. Some of us happen to be better at that than others. In an attempt to take away a little bit of pre trade deadline anxiety, I thought it might be a good idea to look at some horrible trade offers and ideas posed  by fellow Rangers fans on the internet recently. Hopefully we can all just get a nice laugh at these pipe dreams and flat out questionable trade ideas that we can sometimes have at a fan base without looking at the whole picture.

So in my search for these pipe dream trades, I searched the web in all different areas from Reddit, to Twitter, to other New York Rangers blogs. I found some true gems along the way. Here are your New York Rangers trade deadline pipedreams of 2016…

1. From a Rangers blog- Nash/Lindberg/Tambellini for Stamkos/Drouin

Reasoning: “Rangers and Tampa have firepower for this run. Steven Stamkos is UFA so he comes off our books and we re-sign Yandle. We have Drouin for the future. Tampa gets Nash under contract for two more years to make their runs and a couple of solid depth players for their roster.”

Lol what? So this guy thinks that

• The Lightning are going to trade Stamkos and Drouin in the same trade to a conference rival.
• Nash/Lindberg/Tambellini is an acceptable return for a 26 year old who is a4 time 40 goal scorer and 2 time 50+ goal scorer? AND a 20 year old picked 3^rd overall a few years ago?
• The Rangers would let Stamkos walk after trading him JUST so they could re-sign Yandle?

The Rangers do not have enough assets to acquire Stamkos and probably don’t have the assets to acquire a disgruntled Drouin either. Tampa Bay’s GM Steve Yzerman said about a week ago that Stamkos will not be traded at the deadline, so I am going to believe the man on that one. On the other side of the coin, even if this was enough for the Rangers to make this trade (which it is obviously not even close to being so) with Nash’s injury, I don’t think the Rangers can move him because his value wouldn’t be too high.

1. From a Rangers blog- Move Keith Yandle for an expiring contract

Reasoning- If a team that would be in the bottom tier of playoff teams needs a puck moving defenseman, why not flip him for UFA?

This one falls into the really crappy idea side of things. Why would the Rangers trade Yandle, who by the way, leads the team in assists for another UFA? That trade (Unless it was Stamkos which would never happen in twenty million years) would not benefit the Rangers at all.

Keith Yandle is quintessential for this team making a run at the cup this year (at least in my opinion) and I don’t think they should move him unless you can get a sure thing under a reasonable contract for at least a few seasons. I doubt that happens due to his UFA status, so the best bet is for the Rangers to just ride or die with him this year and try to get him re-signed for next season.

1. From Twitter- Kreider/2017 1^st Rounder/2017 4^th rounder to Montreal for Max Pacioretty

Reasoning- In answering a question about what it would take the Rangers to acquire Pacioretty, the user stated that he wouldn’t do this proposed deal if he was the Rangers because it would deplete the prospect pool.

If the Rangers EVER were offered that deal and said no, they would be complete idiots. I like Kreider, I really do, but he really finds ways that I don’t even understand to piss me off. My belief is that the kid has some real potential to be a force in this league, and

I thought he was gonna break out this year, but damn. I think he is too fast for his own good, and this is exemplified by his poor output on shootout/breakaway/penalty shot attempts. When he gets into stride, he is hard to stop, but the problem is that he cannot handle the puck when he is using all of that speed.

Back to this proposed pipe dream, Pacioretty has scored 37+ goals in each of the past 2 seasons, and is on pace to score 30+ again this year at age 27. Yes it would be trading a first rounder again, but this is the window, and Pacioretty is entering his prime. There is no way Montreal did this trade, and I don’t think, not even for a second, that Montreal would even listen to offers for him.

And plus, we all know how the Habs feel about Kreider…

1. From a Rangers Blog- Tanner Glass and a 3^rd for a 5^th

Haha. I actually kind of laughed out loud at that one. I don’t know if that’s because it was obviously satirical, or that part of me knows that that is probably the only way another team would trade for him, thus making my laugh one of nervousness and disbelief. Ugh…

1. On a Rangers Blog- Rick Nash and Derek Stepan for Eric and Jordan Staal

Reasoning- “This injects speed and toughness into the lineup. As well as established leadership. It works for both teams. It lets Carolina get a up and coming center and dump off guys not playing so hot in Carolina.”

Yes, somebody actually posted this in a place where other people can see it. This may be the absolute worst trade proposal I saw on the interweb while doing this research. Contrary to what the person’s reasoning stated, making this trade would make us slower, older, and a lot worse. I have for a long time now held the position that Jordan Staal may be one of the most overrated players in the National Hockey League.

There is nothing about this trade that makes sense for the Rangers. Eric Staal is on the decline. He has only 10 goals as this is being written and has not had a 25+ goal season since 2010-2011. Nash– although he has been hurt, and I have personally been an advocate for him to be traded—scored 42 goals last year! And Derek Stepan is only 25 years old. The guy who proposed this trade should have his license for talking about the Rangers revoked. Pure insanity.

Those were only some of the, let’s just say interesting offers I found on the web in my preparation for this article. I hope at the very least this article made you laugh or chuckle (or both!) I don’t know what the Rangers are planning on doing at the deadline, but I would be willing to be all the money in my wallet (approximately 5 dollars) that none of those above trades will go down before or on deadline day.

Next: New York Rangers Rumors of Nash Disposal

As for what I want the Rangers to do at the deadline? I would love the Rangers to get a pest a la Sean Avery on this team. Guys who I would be interested (although I hate every single one of them) are Brad Marchand, Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds or Andrew Shaw. I don’t know if any of those guys are available, and they all probably shouldn’t be, but my New York Rangers trade deadline pipe dream would be to acquire one of them.

That’s my trade deadline wish, what’s yours?