New York Rangers: Which player is most likely to be dealt on draft day?

John Williams- Vladislav Namestnikov

The New York Rangers have a lot of decisions to make this offseason regarding their RFAs. The franchise has seven RFAs at the NHL level, four of which are forwards and expect big pay raises.

One of those names is Vladisav Namestnikov, a center acquired in the Ryan McDonagh trade. My gut tells me that the first player the Rangers trade before or on Draft Day — if any — is somebody we are not expecting to be moved. Regardless, I’m gonna go with my head and say that Namestnikov is gonna be the first one dealt.

Just to be clear, this doesn’t have much to do with his lack of production once traded to Broadway.

The first thing to note is the team’s ridiculous center depth. Teams will pay a premium for top-six centermen. The Rangers have a boat load with Zibanejad, Hayes, Spooner, Namestnikov, Chytil, Andersson and Nieves.

Due to his responsibility in the defensive zone as well as on offense, Namestnikov is an especially intriguing option for most teams.

Namestnikov is coming off of the best season of his career, one where he logged lots of minutes with Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. This is all about perceived value, though. At the end of the day, he’s a 25 year old top six center who’s good in both ends of the ice. Expect the Rangers to sell high on him.