3 burning questions the NY Rangers still need to answer this offseason
The NY Rangers look like they’re in excellent shape to be one of the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference’s best teams, but they are still full of question marks as we steamroll into mid-July. Before we know it, the puck will drop to signify the start of the 2024-25 season, and there’s a good chance this Rangers team looks a little different than what they currently do.
Two players may not be in New York come October, so it makes sense to ask whether they’re worth trading or if the Rangers are better off keeping them in town. Further, we also need to keep tabs on the development surrounding what will ultimately be a new contract for Igor Shesterkin and why it will be better for the Rangers the sooner he signs it.
Should the NY Rangers even trade Jacob Trouba?
Jacob Trouba had a down season, and it makes sense that a fan base that was so close to seeing its team in the Stanley Cup Final this past season placed much of the blame on him in the playoffs. Yet unless the Rangers are confident that they can adequately replace not only Trouba, but the potential lack of depth losing him would bring, is it even worth trading him?
Honestly, it depends on the compensation. If another team is willing to move an established blueliner that would serve as an adequate replacement for Trouba, the answer is a resounding yes. But if the Rangers are forced to make a few transactions just to find an effective defenseman following Trouba’s potential departure, they may be better off keeping him.
Would the Rangers benefit more in 2024-25 from keeping or trading Kaapo Kakko?
Just 117 points in 300 career games isn’t what teams envision from a former second-overall pick, but it doesn’t mean Kaapo Kakko lacks value. Sure, the Rangers could still get better-than-average compensation for the youngster because Kakko has ultra-high upside - or else, he wouldn’t have been the No. 2 pick - but once again, it comes to trade compensation.
Kakko could still find a role in New York as a decent depth winger and complementary scorer, as he does have a 14.4 shooting percentage over the last two seasons and 31 goals at that. Some players also take longer to develop before they break out, and one that comes to mind right now is former Buffalo Sabre Casey Mittelstadt. Perhaps Kakko follows a similar path that Mittelstadt did throughout the first six or so years of his career.
If Kakko comes into the 2024-25 season looking like the player from 2022-23 who was on the verge of a breakout, the Rangers could be losing out on a serviceable talent; but then again, what would the compensation look like? All trades are ultimately judgment calls, but this one may raise the stakes for general manager Chris Drury.
Will Igor Shesterkin sign his contract extension sooner rather than later?
At face value, this one doesn’t seem like a burning question, as Igor Shesterkin will play out the final year of his contract in 2024-25, regardless of whether he signs it before the season begins or after. But a recent article by Brendan Azoff of The Hockey Writers sheds light on what Shesterkin’s contract could mean for the Rangers if he signed a “record-breaking deal.”
But the earlier the Rangers sign Shesterkin, the earlier general manager Chris Drury will have to plan for life with such a lucrative contract for his star goaltender. Also, the earlier he signs, the easier it will be for Drury to negotiate with and hopefully retain most of his young core, who will also be on expiring contracts.
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