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If you were Rangers General Manager for a day

By Daniel Blanda

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 08: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on December 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rangers defeated the Golden Knights 5-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 08: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on December 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rangers defeated the Golden Knights 5-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 08: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on December 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rangers defeated the Golden Knights 5-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 08: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on December 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rangers defeated the Golden Knights 5-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No one could have predicted the global haywire called 2020. The Mayans were clearly off by about eight years. However, as the world quickly catches fire, the NHL and the New York Rangers return to the ice!

Did any of us predict a worldwide pandemic for 2020? Maybe Elon Musk. But for the rest of us -not in a million years. None of us expected a ‘March Madnessesque’ 24-team tournament to cap off the season. The New York Rangers were essentially gifted a slot in the postseason. Had the season carried on there was a chance the boys in blue wouldn’t have earned a wild card slot.

Going into the trade deadline the Rangers had some of the most coveted players,  but instead of dealing away the likes of Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast and others, they opted to double-down for a potential postseason birth. But heck, the February trade deadline seems almost irrelevant at this point.  Had we known what we know now the roster would more than likely would look a bit different today. No one could have planned or prepared for such an unusual turn of events.

But… what if we knew all of this was going to happen?

Drinking talk

I love a good hypothetical as much as the next guy…

What if the Rangers traded Alexandar Georgiev at the deadline? What if the Rangers drafted anyone else instead of Hugh Jessiman back in 2003? What if we never traded Marian Gaborik away and he instead played for the New York Rangers during the Stanley Cup finals instead of Los Angeles? Would the Rangers still have even made it to the Finals had they not made that trade?

While drinking with a buddy via Zoom – because that is normal, right? – he and I began playing a classic game of “What if!”

WHAT IF we all knew that the world would hit that giant pause button in the sky and we knew that there was going to be a 24-team playoff from the very beginning? Would you have traded any of our players then?

WHAT IF the NHL decided to allow the trade deadline to be waved and trading could commence for the next two weeks? And –

WHAT IF you were the General Manager for one day and were permitted to make one trade and one trade only? Who would you trade for?

So let’s play now.

What if we all knew this was going to happen and what if you were allowed to make one trade for the New York Rangers before the playoffs? What would you do?

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