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The first annual New York Rangers trade value column

By Nicholas Zararis

ST. LOUIS, MO. - DECEMBER 31: New York players celebrate a goal in the firs period during an NHL game between the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues on December 31, 2018, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO. - DECEMBER 31: New York players celebrate a goal in the firs period during an NHL game between the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues on December 31, 2018, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 08: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights fights Adam McQuaid #54 of the New York Rangers during the third period at T-Mobile Arena on January 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 08: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights fights Adam McQuaid #54 of the New York Rangers during the third period at T-Mobile Arena on January 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Maybe a bag of chips

In the grand scheme of things, an NHL team can have a maximum of 50 players under contract at any given time. Of course, not every single player can be Henrik Lundqvist or Connor McDavid, someone needs to play 11 minutes per game with no special teams time. These are the players that get in once in a while and would be lucky to get claimed off of waivers let alone traded.

Cody McLeod

The Rangers’ enforcer is the lowest man on the totem pole in these rankings. Simply put, the enforcer is a dying position in the NHL and it does not make sense to invest in a player that is one dimensional. There are a variety of players around the league that can throw hands while still being an effective hockey player in other phases of the game.

New York claimed the veteran off of waivers last season and it’s unlikely that the team would get any takers this time around.

Boo Nieves

An under the radar depth player that’s as exciting as a ham sandwich, Boo Nieves checks in at second from the bottom. Every team needs a defensively responsible fourth line center, but Nieves has failed to make much of an impact in the ten games he’s played this season. As a pending restricted free agent, he holds minimal trade value.

Adam McQuaid

While Ryan Reeves of the Vegas Golden Knights was pummeling Adam McQuaid, the former Boston Bruin must’ve been thinking about what a rough year it’s been. The veteran defenseman was traded away from a team where he was a cornerstone for a majority of the decade to a rebuilding team and proceeded to get injured so severely that he missed two whole months.

Granted, his sample size with the Rangers is microscopically small, it’s hard to fairly judge him. However, McQuaid looks painfully slow and unable to keep up with play. For the team to get even a fraction of what it invested in him, it’d take a miraculous turn around or an unsuspecting G.M. falling prey to the brand name.

Matt Beleskey

A throw-in on the Rick Nash deal from last year, the overpaid veteran has spent the majority of the past two years in the AHL. Since the Bruins are still paying half of his deal, the contract is slightly more palatable but still on the books until the end of the 2019-2020 season. This would likely be a throw-in piece on a bigger deal.

There isn’t an army of G.Ms lining up to take on the forward that has never lived up to the contract he signed two years ago.

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