Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic (subscription required) just wrote a story hinting that come July 1, the New York Rangers could move “one or more” of the top prospects they drafted or acquired over the last three summers.
While Carpiniello’s article covers almost every possible scenario (one-for-one trades, trade of core players and potential offer sheets) it is worth considering what this claim, though vague, means for the New York Rangers and which prospects may fall into this category.
In the tier of “top prospects” when it comes to the draft, we can consider players that are typically picked in the first three rounds (though there are exceptions to this — let’s take for example Henrik Lundqvist who was picked in the seventh round, 205th overall, who today is considered a future Hall of Famer).
In the last three years the Rangers have had five first round picks (two in 2017, three in 2018), one 2nd round pick (2018) and three third round picks (one in 2016, and three 2018).
On top of these drafted players, there are more prospects that have been acquired via trades that could fall under the umbrella of “top prospects” as well.
If the Rangers look to move some of these players, in what situations should they be willing to make deals?