The New York Rangers were expected to turn the page on what was a forgetful 2024-25 season. The hope was that Mike Sullivan would bring them back into Stanley Cup contention. Thus far, the results aren't there, at least consistently.
Through 41 games, the Rangers are 19-17-5 with 43 points. As of Tuesday, the Rangers are just one point back of the second Wild Card in the Eastern Conference. Even though they are still in the mix, it's hard to get a feel whether they are legitimate contenders or not. When they win, they look good. But when they lose, it's hard to watch. That makes their eventual trade deadline approach that much more interesting.
The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano recently published a midseason report card article for the Rangers. When discussing what the Rangers' trade deadline approach might be, Mercogliano believes it could be a lot like last year's. That means half measures.
"The likeliest outcome is the thread-the-needle approach Drury employed last year, which meant selling off players who don’t factor into future plans while simultaneously looking to add pieces who can help right away. But half-measures often leave teams stuck in the mushy middle," writes Mercogliano.
Rangers expected to undergo 'half measure' approach at the trade deadline
Not committing to a buy or a sell isn't the best strategy. Rangers fans should know this, because that is exactly the approach the team took at last season's trade deadline.
In the month's leading up to the trade deadline, the team traded away prominent players, notably then-captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, and Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche. But they also added to try and win right away, as they acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini, Will Borgen in the Kakko trade, and Carson Soucy from the Canucks in a separate trade. These deals didn't result in a Rangers' playoff berth.
The Rangers obviously had big plans of spending in free agency next summer. After all, it was expected that the likes of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, and Kirill Kaprizov would all hit free agency. Instead, nearly a full year in advance, every one of those players signed contract extensions with their respective teams. Now, the top free agent of next summer is expected to be Artemi Panarin, who is currently on the Rangers.
Mercogliano brings up that the one thing the Rangers must do is bring up dialogue about Panarin waiving his no movement clause. If the Rangers know they don't have a chance to re-sign Panarin, it would be unheard of for the team to explore his trade value, at minimum.
The Rangers desperately need scoring and need to get younger and faster. Given that the superstar free agency class is gone, and the fact that the majority of teams in the NHL are in playoff contention, it's unknown what players would be realistically available and if they could be an immediate help for the Rangers. This is the conundrum they are facing.
Either way, the Rangers dipping their feet in both ends of the pool won't help them. They need to pick a lane for the trade deadline — buy to help make a push for a playoff berth, or sell to begin a bit of a desperately-needed rebuild. But as Mercogliano states, expect the half-measure approach for the second year in a row.