New York Rangers: Five players with the most trade value

The New York Rangers have wrapped up their bye week and are heading into the second half of the season. The trade deadline is fast approaching and the Rangers need to sell, not buy.

Though it may be tempting to buy at the deadline, the New York Rangers need to sell. The front office may not know what the Rangers are, but the team’s play shows exactly what they are: mediocre. The team is in a limbo they know all too well; they are too good for the number one overall pick, yet too mediocre to win a Stanley Cup.

The Rangers have no real all-star outside of goalie Henrik Lundqvist. They have no pure goal scorer nor do they have a star defenseman to make Lundqvist’s job easier. In order to bolster their team, the Rangers need draft picks and prospects.

The Rangers are notorious for trading away their draft picks and prospects for aging veterans in hopes they will help to finally win the Stanley Cup. Seeing as the last time the Stanley Cup was seen in Madison Square Garden was 24 years ago, their plan has most certainly backfired. They are left with a barren prospect pool and went five years without a first round selection.

The Rangers need to start recouping what they’ve lost. Their carelessness with young players has put them in this position and now they need to use the players on their current roster to make their prospect pool flourish again.

Rick Nash

Rick Nash is the most obvious player to trade at the trade deadline. Nash’s $7.8 million contract comes off the books at the end of this season. A contract Nash has not lived up to yet this season, as he has only nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 43 games.

Yes, Nash heavily contributes to the “little things” in his game. Although he is not as much of a goal scorer now, his two-way defensive game is needed on a team with such lackluster defense. However, the Rangers need prospects, picks, and more cap space.Trading Nash would have more pros than cons.

Also worth the read: An argument for extending Rick Nash

The biggest benefit of trading Nash would be cap space. The Rangers have a multitude of players in need of new contracts this summer, including J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey, and Brady Skjei. Trading Nash would give the Rangers the wiggle room needed to sign these players who are deserving of raises.

The problem with trading Rick Nash lies within the contract itself. He has a modified no-trade clause, with which he would need to submit a list of 12 teams he would accept a trade to. This means that the Rangers would need to find one team from this list that will both accept Nash and his contract and will give the Rangers a suitable return. While it is not the worst thing to be stuck with, it would be a bump in the road.

The return for a player like Nash could be substantial. The Rangers could get at least two pieces in a trade like this, especially if they retain salary. The Rangers should shoot for a prospect and a draft pick in the first two to three rounds which would benefit their prospect pool and gaining cap space.

Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner, much like Ondrej Pavelec, is another player the Rangers should sell high on.

Grabner is a strange player. Before he became a New York Ranger, he was dubbed mostly as a third line player who could chip in an empty net goal every now and then. Once he came to the Rangers, he suddenly had a 27 goal season and currently has 18 goals.

Grabner has been a welcomed addition to the third line. However, it would be most beneficial at this point in time to sell high on him. Grabner is 30 and while his play has not declined, the Rangers simply need to play their rookies more.

Michael Grabner could probably bring in a decent return for the Rangers. He has not yet started regressing with age and is still quite serviceable. Even if he mostly scores empty net goals, what team wouldn’t want a 27 goal-scorer on their third line?

Grabner could easily bring in a middle tier prospect or a fourth/fifth round pick if Jeff Gorton plays his cards right. The Rangers need to start stacking up on picks like these and stop trying to look for the “perfect pick” or the “perfect prospect.” Getting more middle-tier players will start to aid the equally mediocre Hartford Wolf Pack, and eventually aid the Rangers.

Ryan McDonagh

The prospect of trading Ryan McDonagh should not be taken lightly. He is both their team captain and best defenseman. Even though he’s had an off year, he remains vital to the team’s success. However, he carries a substantial amount of trade value should the Rangers decide to go that route.

Trading Ryan McDonagh means the Rangers are entering a complete rebuild. With this season being filled with so many lows and so little highs, the Rangers may legitimately decide to head in that direction.

McDonagh is an all-star defenseman and a trade return should reflect this. Throughout his career, he has been extremely steady defensively and is also a fine contributor offensively. His play thus far is not a reflection of who he is and has been as a player. At the beginning of the season, McDonagh was playing while injured.

Once he came back from resting, he started to look like his old self. Inconsistent defense partners and defensive partners who should not be playing on the top line are holding him back. These factors are out of his control and should be noted by potential trade partners.

Ryan McDonagh should bring in a top-tier prospect. The prospect should fit the Rangers’ needs in either a center or a right-handed defenseman. Once again, a trade such as this should not be taken lightly and should only be completed if the Rangers see no hope for future seasons.

Henrik Lundqvist

Trading Henrik Lundqvist is two things: a cry for help and the end of an era.

Even more so than trading Ryan McDonagh, trading Lundqvist should only be done in the worst of circumstances. He is the team’s absolute best player and frankly, their honorary captain. Even at 35 years old, he continues to put the team on his back night in and night out. This season has been no different for Lundqvist.

Lundqvist has an undeniable slow start to this season, but so did the rest of the New York Rangers. Come late November, Henrik Lundqvist was locked in.His save percentage is just above average at .924 and has gone up substantially from his .910 save percentage of last season. His eternal lights-out play and constant hard work make him a prime trade candidate in the worst of circumstances.

The pieces brought in in a Lundqvist trade should be able to be used quickly. The Rangers should seek to acquire both top prospects and high draft picks for a player of Lundqvist’s caliber. Anything less than that would be unacceptable.

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If the Rangers are smart, they will sell at the upcoming trade deadline. This team will clearly not be winning a cup this season with their current roster. By building their prospect pool and properly deploying players, the Rangers could see a cup run as soon as next year.