New York Rangers: Central Division Trade Targets
With the offseason in full swing, the Rangers will look to improve their roster through free agency and trade. Every team has players that will be made available, here we’ll take a look at potential targets from the Central Division.
General manager Jeff Gorton will have his hands full transforming this Rangers roster. The expansion draft looms and the Rangers are still tight to the salary cap. Even after the recent moves made, Gorton still needs to add pieces to the defense corps.
Obviously, the Rangers can’t fix everything through free agency. The Rangers have their own big name free agents to deal with, like Brendan Smith and Mika Zibanejad, and this isn’t one of the stronger free agent classes in recent years. That makes the choice easier: make some trades.
While not every team is a great trade partner, the Central division is one of the deepest in the NHL. Every team has players that can be moved that would help the Rangers’ current team. Let’s take a look at some potential targets from the Central division.
Chicago Blackhawks – Richard Panik
To be completely honest, the Rangers and the Blackhawks are not great trade partners. Both teams have solid goaltenders and depth at forward. However, while the Blackhawks have depth at defense, the top level defensemen on the roster are aging.
If the Rangers were to make a move for a Blackhawks player, it’d have to be in a pretty specific circumstance. The Rangers would have to lose either Michael Grabner or Jesper Fast to justify making the move for one of the more solid all around forwards on the ‘Hawks. Richard Panik, the 26-year-old lefty, proved himself a solid player last season.
In the 2016-2017 season with the Blackhawks, Panik played all 82 games. In those games, he accumulated 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points, adding 58 penalty minutes as well. He and Rangers’ forward Jesper Fast play a similar game, but Panik chips in offensively quite a bit more.
However, the other major difference is a deterrent for the Rangers. Jesper Fast is currently a restricted free agent who will most likely sign for fairly cheap. Richard Panik carries a cap hit of $2.8 million. If the Rangers continue to shed salary as they are, Panik would be a good addition to the Rangers’ bottom six forwards.
Colorado Avalanche – Nathan MacKinnon
This trade rumor has been swirling for a while now, so much so that our own Drew McCaffery wrote a full article on the subject. The Rangers have been looking for a bona-fide number one center for a while now. Nathan MacKinnon could prove to be that center.
The 21-year-old has impressed in his four NHL seasons. He got off to a blistering start to his career, scoring 24 goals and 39 assists in 82 games en route to the Calder Memorial Trophy. However, he hasn’t matched that total since, most recently scoring 16 goals and 37 assists for 53 points.
The Colorado Avalanche would require a king’s ransom for MacKinnon, but the Rangers can get it done. The Avalanche are in full on rebuild mode, so a nice package of a roster player, prospects, and picks could pry MacKinnon out of Denver.
Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns
The right side of the Rangers’ defense is in dismay at this point of the offseason. Longtime Ranger Dan Girardi is having his contract bought out by the team and fellow veteran Kevin Klein is all but officially retired. That’s where the Dallas Stars come into play.
Dallas is missing a lot of veteran depth throughout their defense, but they have an abundance of young talent. Stephen Johns is a 25-year-old right-handed defenseman, who could work wonders for the Rangers’ depleted defense corps.
The 6’4″ 230 pound defenseman played well on a poor defensive team. He featured in 61 NHL games this past year, posting only 10 points. However, his possession numbers more than make up for that. His 51.4 Corsi For Percentage at even strength would have ranked highly among Rangers’ defensemen.
The Dallas Stars have a talented group of forwards, but their defense is inexperienced. The Rangers happen to have a pair of veteran defensemen that general manager Jeff Gorton has made expendable.
Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba
Much like the Rangers, the Minnesota Wild have consistently made the playoffs for the past few years. Another similarity is that both teams have failed to get the job done in the playoffs. The Wild have had few question marks in their forwards and defensemen, but their goaltending has been slightly suspect.
The Rangers, on the other hand, have depth at goalie and forward, but have more than a few question marks on the defense. The Wild and the Rangers, then, make great trade partners. The Rangers need a defenseman like Matt Dumba, and the Wild need a goalie like Antti Raanta.
Matt Dumba is a 22-year old right-handed defenseman who has proven himself as a solid two-way player. In the first year of his current two season bridge deal, Dumba posted 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 total points in 76 games. The former first round draft pick would take plenty to get out of Minnesota, but the Wild’s need match the Rangers’ strength.
The Wild have two goaltenders under contract right now, but only one has proven himself. Starter Devan Dubnyk has been around the block, but he hasn’t been able to really steal games. The Rangers’ current backup, Antti Raanta, showed this season that he has the ability to steal games in relief of Henrik Lundqvist. A package including Raanta may be able to snag Dumba.
Nashville Predators – Mattias Ekholm
The Nashville Predators have their work cut out for them after making their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The team has a huge chunk of the salary cap tied up in one forward, two defensemen, and a goalie. At the same time, they have many pieces up front that need to be re-signed.
As such, the Predators need to shed some salary. Not to mention, the Predators’ biggest strength is the Rangers’ biggest weakness. Of the defensemen on the Predators’ deep roster, Mattias Ekholm is the most moveable.
The 27-year old, 6’4″ 215 pound lefty is known for his solid all around play. He would fit oh so well with the Rangers’ style of play with his crisp passing and smooth skating. Even though he’s left-handed, he has experience playing both sides of the ice.
As for his contract, he is making $3.75 million for the next five seasons. Nashville needs to sign Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen, and Mike Fisher this offseason, so that cap space could be very useful. From the Rangers’ side of things, if Ekholm is acquired, Brendan Smith becomes the more expensive option on defense.
St. Louis Blues – Nail Yakupov
Being completely honest, the St. Louis Blues are worse trade partners than the Chicago Blackhawks. Most of the valuable forwards are highly priced, and the only defenseman that the Rangers need is almost impossible to acquire. The Rangers could use another skilled depth forward to repeat some of the same success from this season.
Nail Yakupov, the former number one overall pick, is a restricted free agent this offseason but has fallen out of favor in St. Louis. The 23-year old is extremely speedy and skillful, but he hasn’t been able to find a team to stick with. The Rangers very well could be that team.
The Rangers already have a very skilled roster, and Yakupov’s abilities fit in with the style of play. He can pass, shoot, and stickhandle with the best of them, but he needs work on the defensive side of his game. The coaching staff and players currently on the roster would undoubtedly help out with that.
In terms of acquiring him, the Rangers wouldn’t have to give much up. Due to his RFA status, St. Louis can’t demand all that much for him, so a mid-level prospect or middle round draft pick could do the trick.
Winnipeg Jets – Jacob Trouba
Of any players in this list, Trouba is the most intriguing. This rumor has been swirling around the insiders for a while now, and the Rangers could make this work. Winnipeg has a plethora of solid defensemen, but not much in the forward group or goaltenders.
The 23-year old righty would fit right in on the top pairing with Rangers’ captain Ryan McDonagh. He is already one of the top two-way defensemen in the NHL, and is under team control for the foreseeable future.
He has another season under contract for $2.8 million against the cap before he becomes a restricted free agent. When he does become a RFA, he will be arbitration eligible, so he can stay without a long term commitment just yet. The price for him could be prohibitive, however.
Next: New York Rangers: The importance of a right defenseman
Winnipeg has every right to ask for a ridiculous haul for Trouba. Luckily, the Rangers have expendable pieces that should entice Winnipeg enough to let Trouba go. The addition of Trouba would prove to be one of Gorton’s best moves if he can keep the value going both ways even.