As the 2025 NHL trade deadline approaches, on March 7 this year, the New York Rangers must continue pulling out all the stops in the hopes of at least cracking the Eastern Conference wild card. With that in mind, there are some things that can be done to help freshen up the roster a little bit, and one move involves bringing up 2021 first round selection Brennan Othmann for his first full NHL season.
The 22 year old Othmann has spent the last two seasons with the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford, though he did suit up for a total of 3 NHL games last season. With the Wolf Pack this season, he's scored 8 goals and 6 assists in 22 games, a far cry from his 2023/24 output of 21 goals and 28 assists in 61 games, but that was without a severely annoying lower body injury. The point is, Othmann is still a good player. That major lower body injury of his that's made him miss significant time this season? A pure fluke for an otherwise decently talented player.
Othmann could crack the Rangers' roster maybe at the end of the regular season or a bit beforehand, especially if New York deals away a couple of free agents to save cap space. Those FAs in question are Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey, both players that haven't had the best seasons in their careers. Additionally, fellow young left winger Brett Berard could be another player to shed if Othmann wants a considerable long term spot on the roster.
Berard's already played 19 games this season with 3 goals and 4 assists, so the competition might be a little tough for Othmann to overcome. It's not to say he can't do it, though. His numbers last season in Hartford as mentioned earlier are more than enough proof, and Berard did a bit better statistics wise admittedly.
Othmann also has some legitimate determination to bring to a Rangers team in desparate need of tough players. Even when missing two plus months of the AHL season, he kept returning to the gym to work out and the practice rinks to slowly get better. Who knows- perhaps that persistence will pay off? And even if he doesn't find a spot on this season's roster, there's always next season, where he'd most likely be a solid 3rd or 4th liner, and he'd replace either Vesey or fellow top free agent Chris Kreider. It wouldn't be smart to put him in the latter's skates so soon, though.