The New York Rangers fanbase is waiting for the start of training camp and the preseason so they can get a feel over whether or not the team is heading in the right direction as compared to the last two disastrous seasons. During this offseason, they have heard the New Jersey Devils fanbase openly dream about the team adding Quinn Hughes. Throughout this offseason, and currently, Hughes has yet to sign a contract extension with the Wild, and the closer it gets to the regular season without a deal, well, Devils fans have already begun sending hypothetical trade offers to bring Hughes to New Jersey to reunite with his brothers Jack and Luke.
As if that wasn't exhausting enough for Rangers fans to deal with, there is now another rival that has emerged as a potential suitor for Hughes.
Rangers rival Flyers emerge as team to watch in Quinn Hughes saga
In a recent mailbag article, The Athletic Flyers reporter Kevin Kurz answered a question about the likelihood of Philadelphia adding a top player. Kurz said that Flyers fans should keep an eye on the Hughes contract situation, citing his relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet and forward Trevor Zegras, and their desire to add a top player this player.
"If you’re the Flyers, any Hughes trade would naturally have to include a contract extension, considering they would have to part with some future assets, at minimum," writes Kurz. "If Hughes wants a three-year extension — which would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2030, the same year as his brother, Jack, in New Jersey, would become a free agent — I would guess that would be palatable for the club. It would give them some runway to become a true contender if you assume the young players on the roster continue to progress."
And just like that, the Rangers fanbase now has to worry about another Metropolitan Division rival fanbase dreaming of adding Hughes to their roster.
The Flyers have a lot working in their favor. They finally broke out of their rebuild, clinched a playoff spot, and made it to the second round of the playoffs. Not to mention, they have the cap space and draft capital to make a huge splash move. That was evident after the Flyers signed Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet. It showed they were willing to both sign a star to one of the richest contracts in the league, while also surrendering four first-round picks if the Ducks failed to match. Ultimately, the Ducks matched, and the Flyers opted against looking for another splash.
Now, the Flyers willl seemingly play the waiting game down the road and see if a star would be willing to head to Philadelphia. Having a promising young core that helped the Flyers end a playoff drought should help their odds.
Rangers are still a ways away from landing a star player
The Rangers have shown they can be a draw to some of the league's biggest stars. They were able to bring in Wayne Gretzky and Artemi Panarin over the years, after all. Yet, they learned in the past year that they aren't in the position to do so.
Some of the top stars are looking to leave their teams in an effort to increase their odds to win the Stanley Cup. The Rangers aren't in that position. They learned this offseason as they put explored trading for the likes of Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Larkin, but both said they were not interested. Tkachuk went to the Florida Panthers to unite with his older brother Matthew, while Larkin remains with the Detroit Red Wings, given he'd only accept a trade to the Panthers, Minnesota Wild, or Vegas Golden Knights.
The Rangers, given their poor outlook heading into the offseason, look like a better team on paper after the additions of Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and most recently Eeli Tolvanen. They also added three new top prospects in Alberts Smits, Cole Beaudoin, and Liam Greentree. They are banking on those veteran additions to make an impact now to bring them back to contention, while the prospects are expected to be their building blocks for the future. Still, they aren't in a position to trade assets for a star, given they gave up multiple high picks for Dorofeyev and Pettersson.
But in terms of free agents, the Rangers can easily become players in the star market if they show improvement this upcoming season. On paper, they should have a better chance of making the playoffs, but they witnessed other teams in the division improve as well. While there is the allure to play in New York for the Rangers, it's not as dominating as it was in the past. They will have to show improvement, especially if they want to lure a player like Hughes over to New York.
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