Will Borgen is the newest member of the New York Rangers, and he's already joined the long list of the Blueshirts who find themselves in the rumor mill. According to TSN and The Athletic insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston, the Moorhead, Minnesota native is already among the list of players that could be moved on and featured in the second iteration of the Athletic's top trade target predictions. While we all believe the Rangers will sell if they cannot correct their current course, seeing the rumors about new acquisitions is still a slap from reality.
Johnston suggested that the Vancouver Canucks could be an organization that wanted Borgen, and a return to the Pacific Northwest could be on the cards for the former Seattle Kraken defender. While it's not an insane idea with the Canucks looking to fill the void left by the Filip Hronek injury, the Rangers might be looking for more than the Canucks could offer to move on from the player they got back in the Kaapo Kakko trade.
LeBrun suggested that the very team that bested the Blueshirts in the Eastern Conference Finals last year could be interested in Borgen, the Florida Panthers. Borgen fits the Panthers' style almost too well. Big in size and extremely physical, his style of play suits a playoff series where a war of attrition is the aim. If that doesn't sound like a Paul Maurice team, I'm not sure what does.
There will be other teams that come out of the woodwork to inquire about the availability of the defenseman, but the Rangers will have a decision to make. He was the significant return in the Kakko trade, so you cannot expect the Rangers to sell him for pennies on the dollar just because other teams want him. They will wish to justify giving up on their young winger. We'll see where this leads, but add Borgen to the names in the rumor mill right now.