As trade talks continue to heat up around the NHL, the New York Rangers find themselves in an interesting predicament- will stars like Alexis Lafrenière and Artemi Panarin soon be on their way out of Manhattan? And who could they bring in to fill such a role? Well, there's at least one name that's popped up recently, and it creates an interesting dilemma for Chris Drury.
Insider suggests a swap of two top draft picks who've yet to live up to expectations
The player in question is Shane Wright from the Seattle Kraken, and the suggestion came from Elliotte Friedman on a recent episode of 32 Thoughts. The 22 year old whose first full season in the NHL was just right (19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points in all but 3 regular-season games), is having a bit of what you'd call a sophomore slump, with 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 49 games. But there are two things fishy with that itself. For starters, there's still plenty of games left for Wright to turn it around, and two, this is far from the only time an NHLer has had such a slump. Guys like Carolina's Seth Jarvis had this very thing happen, and look what he's become, and that's a consistent multi-goal scorer for one of the perennially hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
Making a deal for Wright makes a lot of sense for the Rangers, who desperately need help at center. With Lafrenière's name pinging around trade boards, the Blueshirts don't have much else at what is essentially hockey's version of a quarterback, besides Vincent Trocheck, and Wright could even serve as an alternative for him! Wright isn't due to become a free agent until the summer of 2028, and since he still only makes $1 million a year, the Rangers could get a rising star and save a bunch of money for other players further down the road. Centers like Wright aren't particularly easy to come by in today's league, so the Rangers have to work fast to potentially get the guy they want.
Will the deal ultimately come to fruition?
This deal might go through in the coming weeks, especially after the particular fallout between Lafrenière and Rangers GM Chris Drury. When Drury wrote that letter telling fans of his retool, news of it came to pretty much every player except him. And since Drury and Lafrenière haven't otherwise physically been with another since, it's looking more and more likely the once great Quebecois star may be on his way out of the Big Apple.
Lafreniere isn't only young Blueshirt who could be on the move
Another blockbuster trade candidate is 24-year-old defenseman Braden Schneider, who could be off to San Jose in some theoretical deals. Drury is pretty good friends with Sharks GM Mike Grier, and let's face it, the Rangers' entire downfall since the end of last season started with the poorly handled Barclay Goodrow debacle. At this point, the Rangers could even go California hopping ever since former Rangers star RW Chris Kreider has excelled in Anaheim, with 15 goals and 10 assists in 44 games with the Ducks. Might just go to show the Rangers have a lot of stuff that needs to get done ahead of the trade deadline, and they'd finish things ideally before the league puts in its two weeks notice for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.