Earlier in the week, I talked about a few NY Rangers players who will be playing elsewhere next season. One of those players, Kaapo Kakko, is a leading candidate not just in New York but in the entire NHL to get traded at some point between October 2024 and the 2025 trade deadline. But he’s not the only player who could be the subject of an in-season trade.
Let’s talk about three more players who could wind up going somewhere else during the season not named Kaapo Kakko. These players aren’t just limited to those with the big club since the Blueshirts should enjoy another elite season, there’s a good chance you’ll see general manager Chris Drury move a prospect or two if it means adding a rental to help his team finally win that elusive Cup.
Brennan Othmann
Brennan Othmann has been a hot topic of discussion lately, and if he doesn’t make the Rangers big club this season, perhaps the time has finally come to move on from the former first-round pick. This past season, Othmann debuted with the Rangers and played in three games, spending most of the year in the AHL, where he scored 21 goals and 49 points in 67 contests.
In Othmann’s defense, the Blueshirts big club is rather stacked, so it won’t be easy to find a spot among the top 12 forwards. But what would make Othmann attractive to other organizations in a trade is if he builds off what was a successful season with the Hartford Wolf Pack and if the Rangers are looking to find one more player to get them over the top from a team who will be watching the playoffs from home.
Jonny Brodzinski
Jonny Brodzinski could be the victim of circumstance here at or near the 2025 trade deadline. He’ll be in his age-31 season, and he’s never been the most valuable player at any of his three stops, including with the Blueshirts.
But that doesn’t mean someone else won’t find the veteran valuable, even if it’s as an organizational depth piece only or someone who could fill the lower lines while entering a mentorship role for a young team.
It’s important to point out that Brodzinski spent time in the San Jose Sharks system, and with the team figuring to struggle again, someone like him could come in just to provide a voice in the locker room toward the end of the year. San Jose, as was the case last season, should again find themselves in a ‘selling’ role as they near the deadline this year.
Victor Mancini
Recently signed to an entry-level deal, Victor Mancini may not be the first prospect you will think of needing a change of scenery and he isn’t. But when the time comes to make a big trade so someone valuable can join the Blueshirts, everyone, new signees or not, should be on the table, and Mancini’s size and hard-hitting mentality should attract some rebuilding organizations.
Imagine, for a second, if someone like Boone Jenner of the Columbus Blue Jackets found himself in the rumor mill. Adding a high-potential prospect like Mancini could be the perfect player to insert in such a trade, among other assets, obviously, to bait Columbus into moving someone like Jenner.
Now, this is just an example, and you can substitute Player X and Team Y for Jenner and Columbus, but you get the gist. The Blueshirts are a deep team, and for someone with so much size and the ability to disrupt plays, organizations may want to inquire about Mancini’s availability.