The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and big moves are already being made, such as the three-team blockbuster trade between the Hurricanes, Avalanche, and Blackhawks. As March 7th rolls around, the New York Rangers must decide whether they want to make moves or stick with their current roster.
Within the last two months, the Rangers' playoff hopes weren’t looking good, which meant many players were on the market to be traded. As a result, the Blueshirts shipped away their captain, Jacob Trouba, to the Ducks and Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken in December. Other players such as Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Jimmy Vesey were on the market but were never moved.
At the time, the trades made sense as New York was plummetting in the standings. When Kakko was traded, they were in 11th place in the conference and sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Along with dropping out of the playoffs, turmoil was engulfing the locker room. All of the trade talks left a cloud of uncertainty over Madison Square Garden that plagued the team’s performance.
Despite the struggles, New York has turned it around in January (8-1-3 record) and sits just one point out of a playoff spot. Since the two trades happened over a month ago and the other rumors are in the past, the team has been able to focus more on winning hockey games.
With all that being said, should the Rangers be buyers, sellers, or neither heading into the trade deadline?
Unless they are giving away late-round picks or decent prospects, they should stick with the team they have. Something special is happening in New York and there is no need to mess up the momentum by bringing in someone if it means hurting the team chemistry, again. Igor Shesterkin is in playoff mode, the offense has scored 15 goals in the last three games, and the special teams are playing outstanding.
Current Trade Rumors
The Rangers have been trying to have a reunion with forward JT Miller from the Canucks. Both teams have tried multiple times to get a deal done. The most recent one came in the past week in which the Rangers would have dealt Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, and a pick. The trade reportedly fell through because New York doesn’t want to take on Miller’s big seven-year, 56 million dollar contract.
Although Miller would be a great acquisition, shipping away two guys who have been with New York their whole career could be a mistake. There have also been reports of issues between Miller and a teammate in the Vancouver locker room. That is not something the Rangers should bring onto their team during their current hot streak.
Looking Forward
There are still six weeks until the deadline and things can change, but if the Rangers continue to play the way they have been, this should be the roster come playoff time. New York will close out January with two big games. They take on Colorado on Sunday, Jan 26, and Carolina on Tuesday, Jan. 28.