Rangers Roundup: Latest on John Tavares and Erik Karlsson

Anthony Scultore Updated: Jan 29, 2022

The rumor mill is working overtime this week as we expected with the NHL draft this Friday night. Let’s check in on 2 big names the Rangers have been connected to.

John Tavares

Hockey Insiders had a lot to say about John Tavares today:

Impossible to isolate the 5 at this point with so many moving parts and still tons of time to decide. https://t.co/7Irb57HBMn

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 19, 2018

Like a lot of teams, no doubt, if John Tavares gets to the UFA shopping period, and it is still an “if” at this point, TOR is believed to be putting together a promotional video for JT that may even include a cameo pitch or two from some current Leaf players.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 18, 2018

Once again, the odds on favorite to land Tavares is the team that still has him, the NY Islanders. Of course until that is made official, speculation will continue to run wild and the Rangers I know for certain would be one of the “5” teams Tavares would consider.

Just remember, they are a rival and Tavares would feel like he’d be betraying the fans that have rooted for him so feverishly since he came into the NHL. That’s a big consideration that is often overlooked.

Erik Karlsson

Bob McKenzie was on the radio in Vancouver today and dropped this tidbit on Karlsson:

It’s an interesting time for the Ottawa Senators. And I agree with you, I think they’re going to trade Karlsson. They’ve got to get the right offer. It’s not a gun to their head where the deal has got to be done by the draft, but it would make sense to do it by the draft. – Chris Nichols

The Vegas Knights are the favorites to land him as they have the assets and the cap space to make the move. Throw in the fact that they were going after him hard at the trade deadline and you would expect more of the same from them now.

Still, the Rangers could be considered a dark horse here. They certainly have the cap space and some assets. However, a move that would send over young players and draft picks for Karlsson signals an end to the so called “rebuild” that Gorton and the organization pushed last season.