New York Rangers trade proposals prior to preseason
As the preseason approaches, plenty of moves could still be made.
The New York Rangers have completed the majority of their offseason plan, but some moves could still be made. We have already looked at players the Rangers must consider signing, as well as players that must be off limits to the Rangers.
Now, the Blue Line Station team has some trade ideas. New York will not get the center for their present or future in free agency this summer, so the trade market is the place to go. Additionally, if New York wishes to rid themselves of Nick Holden or Marc Staal, it will likely be in a trade.
Take a look through the slideshow to find out trades we think the Rangers should make before preseason starts. Let us know which you want to see happen in the comments or on Twitter!
Brandon Cohen: J.T. Miller and Nick Holden for Mikael Backlund
Am I sure the Flames would take this? No. Do I think the Rangers would do this? Maybe. Is Mikael Backlund a more valuable player than J.T. Miller? It appears so. Am I asking myself questions to distract myself from the fact that I suggested trading Miller? Absolutely.
This is not an attempt to move Miller. Instead, this is an attempt to acquire a player who could be a crucial part of the Rangers’ present and future. Mikael Backlund’s numbers are tremendous, and the Calgary Flames already boast Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan down the middle. By no means is he expendable, but perhaps he could be moved for the right price.
J.T. Miller, an up and coming winger who could perhaps play center if needed, and Nick Holden, a defenseman who likely has value to other teams, could get the job done. If not, perhaps a mid round draft pick goes the other way as well.
Jack Milewski: Nick Holden and a Third Round Pick for Tyler Bozak
The Rangers have made a solid roster moves during free agency. After bolstering their defense the Rangers were able to acquire a bottom six center in David Desharnais. Now the team needs help in their top six and a trade may be the way to do it.
The Rangers should target Tyler Bozak to help out as a top six center. Bozak put up a career high 55 points last season, the same number as Derek Stepan. Playing with a upstart Maple Leafs team, Bozak looked phenomenal last season.
If the Rangers get Bozak, they will essentially have an interchangeable top three center grouping with him, Kevin Hayes and Mika Zibanejad. Not only that, but with the move JT Miller won’t have to move back to center.
I’m assuming the price will be decent but not over the top for Bozak. The Maple Leafs need defensive help and to add to a young team. They would be happy to get Bozak’s contract off the books as well. Nick Holden and a third round pick sound like a fair price for Bozak.
That gives each team what they need and the third round pick isn’t anything crazy to give up for a player who is consistently around 40-50 points. The Rangers could get their center and get rid of Holden with one move. Another center and the Rangers offseason is complete, Bozak is that guy.
Tyler Kluepfel: Sergey Zborovskiy for Jonathan Marchessault
The Rangers find themselves one quality center away from realistically contending for the Stanley Cup. There are not many great options available for cheap on the market, but there is one team overloaded with centers. That would the Vegas Golden Knights.
Vegas have eleven centers under contract, with seven on the current roster. George McPhee has already traded away one center, that being Marcus Kruger for simply a 5th round pick. Marchessault has one year remaining on his contract after scoring 30 goals last season for the Florida Panthers.
The Rangers are now, believe it or not, overloaded with defensemen. Zborovskiy finds himself far below the Rangers depth chart currently thanks to new additions like Neal Pionk and Alexei Bereglazov. Vegas is in need of defensive prospects. Vegas has only one defenseman under contract that is under 21 years of age. Zborovskiy, 20, may be enticing to a team in this situation.
In conclusion, the Rangers need a center and the Golden Knights need young defensemen. It would be at least worth a proposal.
Lou Venditti: A first round pick and Boo Nieves for Bryan Little
The best trade target left for the Rangers this offseason is Bryan Little. The 29-year-old center has played his entire career with the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers organization, posting 184 goals and 248 assists for 432 points in 672 games.
Little can slot into the Rangers’ top six quite easily, and his $4.5m contract is somewhat reasonable. The cost for a center on the free agent market is high, though. It’s become a sellers market with all of the centers flying around, and it’s hard to think that the Jets would give up Little for anything less than a high draft pick and a prospect or player.
The Jets don’t seem to be going anywhere soon, so a first round pick and tacking on a prospect like Boo Nieves or Ryan Graves could get the deal done.
If the Rangers are able to land Bryan Little, it adds a desperately needed top six center to the mix, and strengthens the Rangers’ Stanley Cup hopes.
Josh Lipman: A Third Round Pick and Ryan Graves for Craig Smith
The Rangers have an obvious need at center after losing Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg. David Desharnais should take over fourth line duties, but New York can’t contend without adding a two-way pivot for the top nine.
The remaining free agent options clearly don’t impress Jeff Gorton. Big name trade targets like Matt Duchene might prove cost prohibitive. It’s time to get creative.
Craig Smith has everything the Rangers should want. He grades above average in every category of Domenic Galamini’s HERO charts. Plus, Smith’s only 27 and signed to an affordable three year contract at a $4.25 million cap hit.
The Predators left Smith unprotected in the expansion draft and chose to shield Calle Jarnkrok instead. Furthermore, Nashville gave a big contract to Nick Bonino in free agency.
Between Jarnkrok, Bonino, and star center Ryan Johansen, Smith stands fourth on the Predators’ center depth chart at best. Smith’s contract might not look so cheap to them when slotted so far down the pecking order.
With both Johansen and scoring winger Viktor Arvidsson due big new deals, Nashville could prove amenable to moving Smith as a cap dump. They already shipped forward Colin Wilson to Colorado in a similar deal for a measly fourth round pick in 2019.
If Smith can be had on the cheap, then the Rangers must pounce.
Scott Austin: A Second Round Pick and Boo Nieves for Lars Eller
Trading for a center like Lars Eller isn’t the most ideal option for the Rangers, but it’s a move worth considering. The Dane wouldn’t do much for the Rangers offensively, but his proven defensive acumen could help as a stop-gap until Kevin Hayes gets acclimated to the second line center role.
Eller can also play on the wings in case the coaching staff would rather slot J.T. Miller at center. His cap hit is only $3.5M which the Rangers should have after signing Mika Zibanejad.
The Capitals are also in a tricky spot cap-wise and could use another left-handed defenseman in Nick Holden. However, Washington is also in need of NHL ready forwards on the cheap so the Rangers may need to forfeit a player from Hartford. Cristoval “Boo” Nieves is a center that could be ready for primetime and could be a good fit in DC if he can stay clear from injury.
Lastly, if the Rangers need to sweeten the deal with more pieces, they have two second round picks in 2018 and could part with one if necessary.
A Fourth Round Pick and Nick Holden for William Karlsson
The Rangers are missing some of the depth that they had last season. Derek Stepan was traded, Oscar Lindberg was taken by the Vegas Golden Knights, and Jesper Fast will be hurt to start the year. The Rangers should acquire William Karlsson to help the depth of the forward group.
The former Columbus Blue Jacket was taken by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft. Last season, he scored a paltry 6 goals and 19 assists for just 25 points over 81 games. However, Karlsson makes up for his production with his overall play.
Karlsson is a great bottom six center. He ranks highly among his peers in both shot generation and shot suppression. The Golden Knights are willing to move any player on their roster. The Rangers should move defenseman Nick Holden and a 4th round draft pick to pick up Karlsson.
Dan Carrozzi: Nick Holden for a Boston Bruins Third Round Pick
The New York Rangers should sell high and trade Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins for a draft pick.
While his play in the playoffs was less than stellar, it is not the primary reason to move him.
Ideally, he would be used in a package to bring in a top center. However, I don’t think he could be the centerpiece in a trade for a Tyler Bozak.
The fact of the matter is that the Rangers have too many defensemen. Even with the departures of Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein, the team has approximately eight NHL defensemen.
At age 30, it is unlikely that Holden will replicate his career year of 11 goals and 34 points. Furthermore, his shooting percentage was high at 13.1%.
The Rangers should not make the same mistake as with the aforementioned Kevin Klein and not capitalize while he still has value.
Holden will be much easier to move than his partner Marc Staal. The latter’s contract and no movement clause make him difficult to move and salary will almost certainly need to be retained.
Next: Free Agents the Rangers must avoid signing
The Rangers should certainly be able to get back more than the 4th round pick they paid for him last off-season.