New York Rangers: Is Kevin Hayes trade bait for the Sharks?

In the process of rebuilding, the New York Rangers have acquired a healthy amount of centers they hope can be the future of the team down the middle. With the influx of new talent, not everyone will be able to stick around.

Rebuilding is a fickle beast. At one moment you’re hopeful for the future as you watch your team acquire all this fresh, young talent. The next moment, you’re watching your favorite player get traded away for more draft picks and prospects.

What the Rangers plan on doing with fan-favorites such as Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider remain to be seen, but one player they could get a high return on right now is Kevin Hayes.

The 6’5” center has been consistent in his four-year career, potting 45,36,49 and 44 points, respectively.

Normally it doesn’t make sense to trade a player in early October, as you tend to get a greater return if you wait for a desperate team at the trade deadline. But in other instances, a cup-contending team might receive a significant blow and need a replacement for the long haul.

Why now?

The San Jose Sharks recently placed veteran center Joe Thornton on injured reserve with no timetable for return. Sure, it’s early enough in the season where there’s no need to push the panic button, but at 39-years old and an exhaustive history of knee injuries, this isn’t one of those times to wait and see.

Last year, the 6’4” Ontario native tallied 13 goals and 23 assists. It was impressive in part to the fact he only played in 47 games, but that was because of another knee injury.

Waiting for Thorton to come back shouldn’t be the game plan for the Sharks. There’s no telling when that might be and no guarantee he won’t strain his knee again. The game plan should be finding a reliable center now.

Hayes is more than just a stopgap.

At about an inch taller, Hayes has recorded more goals in three of the last four years despite getting shuffled around in a demanding bottom-6 role. The Boston native doesn’t come close to notching the same amount of assists as Thorton, but placed with proper weapons he could put up bigger numbers.

For a team in win-now mode, the Sharks currently have an undrafted prospect Antti Suomela centering the third line, despite having no NHL experience. That’s not to say he can’t blossom into a key player, but for a team in a stacked division that will have to go through at least one of Vegas, Anaheim, Los Angeles or Calgary, having experienced center depth will prove to be integral to a long playoff run.

Hayes, in just three years of postseason experience, has already played in 34 playoff games. He could slide into the third line role seamlessly and bring an experienced two-way game to San Jose.

He is due for a long-term contract after this year, but at only 26-years old, Hayes wouldn’t be a rental, he could become part of a brand new core for the foreseeable future.

Calling all Swedish centers in Hartford.

In addition to receiving draft picks and/or prospects for the Sharks, the move would also make room to call up 2017 first-round pick Lias Andersson. After an impressive training camp, Andersson was sent down to anchor the first line of the AHL affiliate Hartford Wolfpack.

There’s no rushing the 19-year old center, but gaining early additional NHL experience while playing with crucial rebuilding pieces Filip Chytil and Brett Howden could help this young core gain the kind of chemistry the 2011-2015 squad had that brought so much success.

It’s Hayes or Zibanejad

If Andersson proves to be the shutdown center that GM Jeff Gorton & co envisioned him to be then you can really see the top-3 centers as Mika Zibenajad, Chytil and Andersson anchoring this rebuild. With Hayes coming off a one-year contract, does Gorton think he’s better off giving him long-term deal, or would that push Andersson down the to fourth line? If that’s the case, where does Howden go?

The chances are better than not that one of the centers will get moved this year to make room for the upcoming phenom hopefuls. The question is, how soon is too soon to deal?