The New York Rangers may have been playing good, well-rounded hockey to start the season, but they have now entered a free fall. Their most recent embarrassing outing was a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, who entered the context with an eight-game losing streak. That game saw the season debut for Brennan Othmann, who has been the subject of trade chatter early on this season.
Othmann failed to make the roster out of training camp, being sent down to the AHL relatively early. Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Rangers had received trade interest from other teams about Othmann. Even with that interest, general manager Chris Drury does have a price where he could be swayed to move on from the 2021 first round pick.
Friedman followed up on the Othmann trade interest in his latest 32 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, where he says the Rangers are looking for AHL prospects in exchange for Othmann.
"When asked, the Rangers have requested good AHL prospects in exchange for Brennan Othmann," writes Friedman.
Chris Drury's asking price in Brennan Othmann trade talks revealed
Drury understandably has a high asking price for Othmann. After all, The Athletic's Chris Johnston wrote in a recent trade candidate big board article that rival teams are "intrigued" by Othmann's potential and that they cite his "dangerous shot and ability to win back the puck" as positives in his game.
Othmann's position in the Rangers organization appeared to be in flux. After all, he was cut from training camp with over a week remaining, while the likes of Noah Laba and Gabe Perreault competed for a roster spot. But the Rangers needed a forward after Matt Rempe suffered an upper body injury after getting into a fight with former Ranger Ryan Reaves in New York's 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks. Instead of it being Perreault, who lost out on the last roster spot to Laba, it was Othmann.
In the Rangers' 5-1 loss to the Flames, Othmann logged 12:31 of ice time, one shot on goal, and a plus/minus ratio of -1.
Before getting the call back up to the Rangers, Othamnn played four games with the AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack, where he recorded just one assist.
Othmann's playing time with the Rangers is contingent on when Rempe and Vincent Trocheck return from injury. If they are out, expect Othmann to continue playing, barring getting replaced by another Rangers prospect.
But when it comes to those trade reports, Othmann will only be moved if Drury gets a trade package of "good AHL prospects" from interested teams. As of now, it's unknown if any team has come close to meeting that asking price.