The Athletic’s Brady Tkachuk trade proposal would be a disaster for the Rangers

The New York Rangers' offseason is only a few weeks old, and personally, I can’t wait for the day we can stop talking about Brady Tkachuk. After nearly two decades covering this organization, I am no stranger to the Blueshirt speculation machine. However, the Tkachuk situation has become particularly exhausting given the massive chasm between his perceived intangible value and his actual analytical output. Despite his recent comments about wanting to remain in Ottawa, the noise won't die down, hence the latest bonkers proposal regarding what a trade might look like.

The Athletic's trade suggestion is bonkers

Today there was a story that served as a follow-up to an earlier entry looking at the state of the organization and the many holes Chris Drury needs to fill to get New York back to contention. That provided a natural opportunity to talk about Tkachuk, even in light of his recent comments about wanting to remain in Ottawa and his frustration with the trade noise.

The story touches on several points, but the crux of it focuses on a package that would hinge on Alexis Lafrenière, a first-round pick, and additional prospects or roster pieces. It was even suggested that it might take the Rangers' 2026 pick, which is locked in between No. 1 and No. 5 overall, to have a serious chance.

This would be a massive overpay for a number of reasons. For starters, the Rangers are not close enough to contending to sacrifice a top-five pick, especially considering the long-term impact such a player could have on the franchise. There is no scenario where that makes sense, even if the Rangers were to fall back to No. 5 overall.

Secondly, Lafrenière is fresh off a season where he ended strong and showed exactly what he’s capable of outside of Artemi Panarin’s shadow. He tied his career high in points and was nearly a point-per-game player in 2026, recording 37 points in his final 40 games. Giving up both Lafrenière and a top-five pick for Tkachuk is simply a non-starter.

What history says about a potential trade

The Rangers have always been in the business of acquiring star players, often chasing superstars who were past their prime. When looking at Tkachuk, his age, and his production, it’s clear the Rangers have made this exact trade before.

Rick Nash had 289 goals, 258 assists, and 547 points in 674 games (0.81 P/GP) and was 28 during his first season with Rangers. Brady Tkachuk has 213 goals, 250 assists, and 463 points in 572 games (0.81 P/GP) and will be 27 next season.

When the Rangers added Nash, a player who had multiple years left on his deal, it cost them Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a first round pick. Brandon Dubinsky's career high in points with the Rangers was 54 in 77 games, and the closest he came to that after the trade was 50 points in 76 games, and 48 points in 75 games with Columbus.

Dubinsky and Anisimov were solid contributors, but neither ever reached the ceiling that a surging former No. 1 pick like Lafrenière or a 2026 top-five asset possesses. On top of that, Nash was a big name who scored highlight reel goals. He was someone who had international success playing for Team Canada, and was considered to be someone who was held back playing on a pretty bad Columbus team.

The parallels to Tkachuk and his limited success on a mostly bad Ottawa team stand out, but he doesn't have the same recognition and star power as Nash. The stat lines are close enough, but if Nash, who left Columbus because he wanted out, wasn't able to generate a real good haul, why would Tkachuk exceed that when he'd be leaving under similar circumstances?

Hopefully, this speculation can die down soon. The quickest way for that to happen would be if the Rangers win next week's draft lottery. If they lock in the No. 1 overall pick, there's no way they consider trading it, but even if they don't, a deal for Tkachuk continues to make little sense for the future of Letter 2.0.

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