New York Rangers Daily: ‘Compelling’ offers for Mikko Rantanen leads list of trade rumors before deadline
There’s a flurry of activity and rumors ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, which arrives at 3 p.m. ET Friday. The New York Rangers did their heavy lifting already, with four trades made during the season. But there are still some rumors floating around tying the Rangers to a left-shot defenseman and, of course, their plan to ship out pending UFA forward Reilly Smith.
UPDATE THU 2 P.M. ET: Rangers trade Reilly Smith to Vegas for Brendan Brisson, 3rd-round pick
But there shouldn’t be any more major upheaval with the Rangers roster before the deadline. There are Chris Kreider trade rumors, but that might be a difficult needle to thread right now for general manager Chris Drury. Plus, Kreider is sidelined with an upper-body injury.
Keeping an eye on the market for a left-handed defenseman — likely one with term remaining on his contract — is intriguing, but could also prove difficult to make happen. Especially with players flying off the market.
A day before the deadline, the Rangers (31-26-5) are ninth in the Eastern Conference, though tied in points with the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card and just one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the top wild card. This after a frustrating 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, which concluded a winless season series for the Blueshirts (0-2-1).
Right after the deadline, the Rangers play two massively important games. They visit the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon, then host the Blue Jackets at MSG on Sunday. If ever there was a chance to show these upstarts who big brother is, this is it.
In the interim, let’s see what the Rangers’ competitors for a playoff spot do ahead of the deadline, and if Drury has anything else up his sleeve.
New York Rangers news
Here are the winners and losers from the Rangers loss to the Capitals.
And here are three key Rangers takeaways from that OT defeat.
Marty Biron told Forever Blueshirts that the Rangers shouldn’t just focus on grabbing a wild-card berth, but set sights on third place in Metropolitan Division, where the Devils are vulnerable.
Ryan Lindgren’s deeper stats and analytics weren’t great in his Colorado Avalanche debut, but the former Rangers defenseman was praised highly by coach Jared Bednar on Tuesday.
WATCH: Going 1-on-1 with Marty Biron on the RINK RAP podcast on the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page
NHL news and rumors
Our John Kreiser broke down what’s next for the New Jersey Devils after Jack Hughes is lost for the season following shoulder surgery.
According to reports, the Devils are close to acquiring defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks for a second-round pick and a prospect.
Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Carolina Hurricanes are fielding “compelling” offers for Mikko Rantanen, just in case they decide the move him ahead of the trade deadline and after it appears he turned down offers to sign long term with Carolina.
Lebrun also says that the San Jose Sharks are listening to offers for defenseman Mario Ferraro.
The Sharks did make a trade Wednesday, sending backup goalie Vitek Vanecek to the Florida Panthers for forward Patrick Giles.
This may scuttle trade interest in a top goalie on the trade market: John Gibson left the Anaheim Ducks game against the Vancouver Canucks after a collision in the second period.
The Canucks went on to edge the Ducks 3-2.
The Tampa Bay Lightning swung big, acquiring forwards Yani Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken in a deal that included two first-round picks in return.
The Pittsburgh Penguins got busy and acquired forward Tommy Novak and veteran defenseman Luke SChenn from the Nashville Predaotors for forward Michael Bunting.
Ivan Provorov is staying put with the Columbus Blue Jackets. General manager Don Waddell said it’s unlikely they’ll sign the pending UFA defenseman before the deadline, but they’re not going to trade Provorov either.
Jordan Greenway signed a two-year, $8 million contract to remain with the Buffalo Sabres.
The Utah Hockey Club took care of its own, signing goalie Karel Vejmelka (five years), forward Alex Kerfoot (one year) and defenseman Ian Cole (one year) to new contracts.
The Ottawa Senators rallied for a crucial 4-3 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Watch Tim Stutzle score the OT winner for Ottawa.
Goalie Joseph Woll was pulled in the first period as the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2.
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