Are Ranger fans driving the Anthony Cirelli trade talk?

Anthony Cirelli to the New York Rangers, fact or fiction?

The Anthony Cirelli trade buzz started when the NHL decided to resume the season back in August of 2020.  Based on Tampa Bay’s dire cap situation, many around the league began to speculate about whether or not the Lightning would be able to retain center Anthony Cirelli, and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, both of whom were set to become restricted free-agents at the end of the 2020-21 season.  Rumors began circulating that the two players would likely receive an offer sheet, or that the Lightning would look to trade one of the two guys.  With the Rangers in need of a center, the internet jumped on it and the hype took on a life of its own.

A fan-made rumor

All over the internet, you can see Rangers fans coming up with possible trade packages for the young center.  It truly has become the most popular Rangers trade rumor ever since the Jack Eichel rumors died down.  All you have to do is a quick Google search to find a plethora of articles linking Cirelli to the Rangers, or better yet, search the name “Cirelli” on Twitter’s trending page, sit back, grab your popcorn, and enjoy the frenzy that is unfolding within Rangers Twitter.  It is clear that after the very unpopular free-agent signing of Jack Johnson, and the negligence that the Rangers front office has shown towards fixing their center position, fan’s are foaming at the mouth for Gorton and Davidson to make a big move.

Please note that no one from the Rangers front office has confirmed nor denied the rumor.  It is purely fan-made speculation.

The bigger question

There is still a big question that everyone seems to be forgetting to ask: is Anthony Cirelli worth it?  Obviously according to social media, the answer is yes.  But at what cost? Cirelli had 44 points on 16 goals and 28 assists in 2019-20.  Solid numbers, but I personally wouldn’t give up a high draft pick or a future top prospect for him.  If the Lightning want Filip Chytil and a second round pick in a future draft, that sounds fair to me.  The problem with Cirelli is that 2019-20 has been considered his best year so far, and it was done during a pandemic-shortened season.  Not to mention that he has never scored more than 21 goals in his career, and that goes back to his days in the OHL as well.  It’s a small sample size for the 23 year old center, and you can’t bank on him becoming a star just yet.

I do think that Gorton should at least inquire about Cirelli, but I also think that unless the Rangers can take advantage of the cap-strapped Lightning and get Cirelli for a steal, they should stay far away from it.  I would rather Gorton use his more valuable resources on someone like Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  

There is also the possibility that the Rangers avoid a trade completely, and offer sheet Cirelli.  An offer sheet might be a plan B however, as the Rangers would need to compensate with a second-round pick if they offer him a contract anywhere between $2,181,546 and $4,363,095.  The Rangers currently don’t have a second round pick.  If New York offers him more than $4,363,095 they would have to compensate with a first round pick and a third round pick.

So what do you think, Rangerstown? Is there anyone else you would rather see the Rangers go for? What kind of trade package would you put together in order to acquire Cirelli? Let me know in the comments below!