New York Rangers: To trade or not to trade at the Trade Deadline

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NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 13: New York Rangers Left Wing Chris Kreider (20) takes the puck across the blue line during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers on January 13, 2020 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Chris Kreider

Chris Kreider will be the biggest available name on the market and he will be the prize of this year’s Trade Deadline.

Blessed with blistering speed and immense upper-body strength, Kreider is an elite power forward who no doubt has another level or two to reach.

Kreider’s biggest bugaboo is his frustrating lack of consistency, a flaw that has restricted the power forward from really unlocking his full potential.

However, that being said, Kreider would make a contender immediately better and his deadly concoction of speed and power will make him ideal for a number of teams with designs on the Stanley Cup.

There will be a queue of teams lining up to get Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton on the phone, with a first round pick and high-end prospects probably the price for Kreider.

The St. Louis Blues, the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche are probably teams that would all have a serious interest in Kreider, who will be commanding the most headlines over the next couple of weeks.

But, there is a major caveat at play here.

And that is the fact that I am becoming more convinced by the day that the Rangers will actually hold on to Kreider and instead sign him to a new deal.

Why do I think this?

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – JANUARY 25: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers takes the ice during player introductions prior to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game at the Enterprise Center on January 25, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images) /

I have two school of thoughts here.

Firstly, President John Davidson favors leadership and experience and Kreider brings both of those qualities in abundance.

The wing is hugely respected in the locker room and he’s taken it upon himself to become a role model for this franchise’s bevy of young players.

Davidson has rebuilt both the St. Louis Blues and the Columbus Blue Jackets and he knows how vital an ingredient experience is, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the front office made re-signing Kreider a priority.

Secondly, and leading off from that last point, the rumors doing the rounds suggest that the Rangers are trying to persuade Henrik Lundqvist to waive his no-trade clause, and that further convinces me that keeping Kreider has become the biggest priority.

Trading Lundqvist and, as a result, shedding the goalie’s $8,500,000 cap hit would give the Rangers the cap space to thrash out a new deal with Kreider.

I could be wrong of course but my gut is telling me that Chris Kreider could be here to stay for a while longer.

Plus, he has really shown over the last month or so that his heart is in New York and, fifth on the team in points with 40 (22 goals, 18 assists), Kreider still has a big role to play for this team.

And, after a monster night against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, Kreider once again underlined his importance to this team and, as a result, made an already tough decision for the front office that much harder.

Verdict: No Trade

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