Rangers GM reportedly ‘won’t wait much longer,’ but making trade not easy
Considering the current state of the New York Rangers, it’s not surprising to see rumors and reports surface about their interest in making a trade or two sometime soon. But doing so may not be that easy for Rangers general manager Chris Drury.
The general consensus around the League is that the Rangers will be active ahead of the March 6 NHL trade deadline. And don’t rule out trade activity before the NHL roster freeze is in effect from Feb 4-22 during the Olympic break.
“Drury won’t wait much longer,” an NHL source told RG Sports. “He was poking around on the trade market and he’s let it be known, he’s not afraid to move a big name off his roster, too. If he makes an impact move, it’s going to be a roster player for a roster player, and it will be a shakeup move to send a message to that dressing room.”
That’s all well and good. But before any trade, big or small, is made, the Rangers must decide if they’re buyers or sellers.
The Rangers (20-18-6) haven’t played great nor with much consistency this season. They’re 29th out of 32 NHL teams, averaging 2.59 goals scored per game, and 15th in the 16-team Eastern Conference with a .523 points percentage. But yet the Rangers are vastly improved defensively (6th in the League with a team 2.73 goals-against average) and just three points out of a playoff spot.
Muddying the decision-making waters even more are the dual injuries sustained by two of the Rangers biggest stars — Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox — in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Monday.
Fox is on LTIR with a lower-body injury, and the earliest he can return is Jan. 31. Shesterkin also has a lower-body injury, but landed on injured reserve without a clear timeline for how long he will be out.
Rangers face many obstacles before making any big trade this season
That’s not the only complication. If Drury wants to trade pending unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin, for example, he needs the player to waive his no-move clause in his contract. Even though contract extension talks reportedly went nowhere earlier this season, Panarin’s given zero indication he wants to be traded. So, yeah, that’s a complication. As his his massive salary-cap hit, which few Stanley Cup contenders can fit on their books.
“I heard his name out there leading into the Holiday Roster Freeze, ” the same NHL source told RG.
“The question is: Is there a team out there willing to take him on as a rental? I would think Colorado or Dallas could be interested. … maybe Detroit?”
And it’s not just Panarin. Veteran forwards Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and Vincent Trocheck each has some level of no-move or no-trade protection. And trading pending UFA defenseman Carson Soucy and/or struggling former first-round pick Brennan Othmann, who’s stuck in the minors, doesn’t move the needle much at all.
Alexis Lafreniere? Braden Schneider? Possibly. But Drury must seek a huge return for either, considering the Rangers already traded away a bunch of younger players in the past year, including Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and Filip Chytil.
“He had high hopes for this roster, and on paper you can see why, but for whatever reason, they just haven’t clicked,” the NHL source said. “He already made that big trade for J.T. Miller last year, and he didn’t wait for the trade deadline. He knows this year, he may have to pull the trigger even earlier if they don’t get going here.”
The trade chatter is real. But actually getting a significant deal or two done faces plenty of obstacles ahead.
