How does the Taylor Hall trade affect Chris Kreider’s trade value?

With the trade of marquee free agent Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes, it leaves the New York Rangers with one of the more attractive forwards left who will be available at the trade deadline.  Where does Chris Kreider rate when it comes to deadline trade bait?

This is not the year for a bumper crop of free agents. The number of top notch forwards is limited and that could be good news for the New York Rangers as we get closer to the February trade deadline.  It can only mean that Chris Kreider‘s market value will be higher than ever, despite his less than average output this season.

Last summer there were a number of top pending free agents who could have been dealt at the deadline.   They included Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, Ryan Dzingel, Kevin Hayes, Marcus Johansson, Mats Zuccarello, Gustav Nyquist  and Wayne Simmonds.   While the New York Rangers got the cream of the crop in Artemi Panarin, all of the players listed above signed for contracts of $4 million or more in the off-season.   Also on the market were forwards like Derick Brassard,   Brian Boyle and Riley Sheahan.

This season’s crop

How does that compare to this season?  With Taylor Hall off the market, the selection is limited.  Here is the list of the 16 future free agents who have scored a minimum of five goals and five assists this season:

J.G. Pageau, Ottawa:  16 g, 8 a, 24 pts
Evgenii Dadonov, Florida:  12 g, 12 a, 24 pts
Zack Kassian, Edmonton: 12 g, 12 a, 24 pts
Mike Hoffman, Florida:  12 g, 11 a, 23 pts
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington: 6 g, 17 a, 23 pts
Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles: 9 g, 12 a, 21 pts
Carl Soderberg, Arizona: 10 g, 10 a, 20 pts
Derick Brassard, Islanders: 8 g, 10 a, 18 pts
Josh Leivo, Vancouver: 7 g, 11 a, 18 pts
Chris Kreider, Rangers: 8 g, 10 a, 18 pts
Tyler Ennis, Ottawa: 8 g, 9 a, 17 pts
Vlad Namestnikov, Ottawa: 7 g, 10 a, 17 pts
Matt Nieto, Colorado: 5 g, 10 a, 15 pts
Jesper Fast, Rangers: 5 g, 7 a, 12 pts
Pat Maroon, Tampa: 5 g, 7 a, 12 pts
Patrick Marleau, San Jose: 6 g, 5 a, 11 pts
Conor Sheary, Buffalo:  5 g, 5 a, 10 pts

There are a few more players to add to the list including Pittsburgh’s Alex Galchenyuk, Nashville’s Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith, Buffalo’s Jimmy Vesey and Wayne Simmonds of New Jersey.

Backstrom and Marleau will not be on the market.  The players who are currently on contenders who will be reluctant to trade include Hoffman, Dadonov, Galchenyuk, Kassian, Sheary, Soderberg, Brassard, Leivo, Maroon, Vesey and Nieto.

A lot can happen in the next two months.  Teams like Buffalo and Florida can fall out of contention and that will increase the pool of available forwards.

Right now, it appears that Pageau, Ennis, Namestnikov, Simmonds and Toffoli are the five sure fire deadline trade candidates and rivals when it comes to the Rangers trading Kreider.

How does Kreider compare?

So, how does Krieder compare as a trade deadline rental for a Stanley Cup contender?  The good news is that he has a solid reputation as a speedy, power forward.   He is one of the top goal scorers of the group with only Pageau (16) and Toffoli (9) with more than Kreider’s eight.

Another factor in Kreider’s favor is his playoff experience.  He has played in 77 playoff games, almost double the number of all of his chief rivals.

While J.G. Pageau is having a career year, he has never topped the 20 goals mark in six full  NHL seasons. Toffoli’s numbers have been declining for the last three years.  Tyler Ennis is six years removed from his last 20 goal season.  Namestnikov has not proven himself able to score consistently unless he plays with top forwards.  Wayne Simmonds was traded at the deadline to Nashville and was awful with only one goal in 17 games.

All in all, Kreider looks to be one of the top available forwards sure to be available this season.  The key question is what the Rangers can get in return.  Will it be similar to the 1st and 2nd round picks along with Anthony Duclair that Ottawa got for Ryan Dzingel or will it be the 2nd and 3rd picks the Rangers got for Mats Zuccarello?