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Trade deadline leverage…the Rangers don’t have much

By Steve Paulus

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton and New York Rangers Director, European Scouting Nickolai Bobrov looks on during the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton and New York Rangers Director, European Scouting Nickolai Bobrov looks on during the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

As the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline looms, the New York Rangers have very little leverage.  That may be bad news, but the worst news is that every NHL general manager knows it.

Player transactions in the NHL are tricky.  It pays to have leverage in terms of cap space or roster flexibility and at the trade deadline, trade-able assets.  This year, the New York Rangers only have the latter.

Here’s the dictionary.com definition of leverage:  “power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions, etc.; sway:”  So, how much leverage does Jeff Gorton have?

With Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast and Greg McKegg the unrestricted free agents on the team, they are sure fire trade bait. The best thing Jeff Gorton has going for him is that Chris Kreider is probably the best available hockey player on the market.   In Fast and McKegg he has two useful pieces for a playoff team, but the return will be whatever he can get.

The hope for the Rangers is that Gorton can extort a king’s ransom for Kreider and it’s likely that he will wait until the last minute for the best deal, unless he is bowled over by an offer before the February 24th deadline.

The bad news about Georgiev

It’s been reported that the Rangers have let teams know that they are open to fielding offers for Alexandar Georgiev, but the minute they promoted Igor Shesterkin and he began winning, all of their leverage vanished.

Georgiev is a good young goalie, but no one thinks he is the next Jordan Binnington.  With other, more experienced goaltenders on the market, a team acquiring him will be looking towards the future.  So, if anyone thinks the Rangers are going to get a player like Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson for Georgiev, think again.

The Athletic (subscription required) recently assessed potential trades and this is what an unnamed hockey exec had to say about the Ranger netminder:   “I don’t know why people think the Rangers are going to get a massive windfall for Georgiev. He has mediocre numbers, a mediocre record, and having three goalies erodes any leverage they have.”  Ouch.

The Rangers would be better off suffering through the three goalie rotation the rest of the season and look to deal Georgiev this summer.

There are some other assets they could deal in a few weeks.

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