Often times, when a struggling prospect is on the trading block, teams will look to complete one for one trades to create a “fresh start” scenario. Truth be told, even established NHL players sometimes get traded for this purpose. Ryan Strome was a subject of one such trade.

One-for-one trades are a good idea for GM’s looking to kick start their valuable assets. The potential for success on both sides makes them an intriguing option.

Read: Andersson breaks his silence

Trading Lias

This is something I’m sure Jeff Gorton will consider as he shuffles through his options regarding Andersson. For the short term, it looks like the he may be loaned to an SHL team to continue building his skills on the ice. Let’s take a look at some potential one-for-one trades the Rangers could propose.

Eeli Tolvanen

Eeli Tovanen is a skilled Finnish winger who was drafted by the Nashville Predators with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He is an elusive skater who has a fantastic shot, accurate and strong.

He played three games with the Predators after being drafted but finished the season playing in Finland. The following season he scored two points in four games with Nashville before being assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. In 58 games played he amassed 35 points. However, he finished the regular season with a minus-8 rating and failed to produce in five playoff games. He has spent the entirety of this season in the AHL, producing 15 points in 36 games.

One issue that remains is that Tolvanen has not produced to the level that the Nashville organization expected in the minor league. He isn’t playing poorly, but had a slow start to the season. In addition, Nashville called up several of Tolvanen’s teammates earlier in the season. This was questionable given Tolvanen’s decent ceiling and lack of opportunity at the NHL level thus far.

If Nashville isn’t satisfied with the development of Tolvanen, they could be a team willing to swap 2017 prospects in order to reset.

Denis Gurianov

Denis Gurianov would be an intriguing candidate. Gurianov is a large Russian winger who was drafted 12th overall in the 2015 draft by the Dallas Stars. He is a fast and aggressive skater who has a good shot.

Gurianov played in Russia after he was drafted but produced only a handful of points in over 50 games played, a troubling statistic for a forward. However, his next season was more successful. He played a single game with the Stars before finishing the season in the AHL with the Texas Stars. He notched 27 points in 57 games. That same year he represented Russia at the World Junior U20 Championship. He put up seven points in seven games.

The following season he scored 34 points in 74 games. He also scored 5 points in 16 playoff games. Last season he produced four points in 21 games with Dallas before being sent down. He then went on a tear, putting up 48 points in 57 games. This season he has scored 15 points in 37 games with Dallas and three points in two games with Texas.

Clearly Gurianov is developing but Dallas could be looking to bolster their depth at the center position, and if so Gurianov could be the guy coming back the other way. As our very own Steven Voogel notes, there is a tendency for players to not want to sign extensions in Dallas, so they may be looking to get something for him instead of nothing. Lias Andersson still has a lot of trade value, so this could be a good option.

Max Jones

Max Jones was drafted 24th overall in the 2016 draft by the Anaheim Ducks. The American winger is large and powerful, and has the makings of your typical offensive power forward.

He tore it up for the OHL’s London Knights before and after he was drafted, but it has not been as smooth after. Last season he scored 29 points in 43 games for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. However, he only scored five points in 30 games with the Ducks. This season he has only scored six points in 31 games with Anaheim and has only produced a single point in six games with the Gulls.

Clearly this is not exactly the production that the Ducks were hoping for. They too are a rebuilding team who may be looking to refresh their prospect pool. In addition, the Rangers could use a large powerful winger to play middle-six minutes in the lineup. This would be one name to watch as well.

Special thanks to fellow Forever Blueshirts writer Steven Voogel for providing some insights regarding the names above.

Scouting reports retrieved from Elite Prospects.

Lias Andersson wants to be traded and per Elliotte Friedman, Jeff Gorton is in search of a “north/south” player. What you need to understand is that these two statements aren’t linked. The truth of the matter is that trading a disgruntled prospect who hasn’t been able to make a real impression in almost three years isn’t going to be easy.

Everyone is speculating now

Larry Brooks’ latest article absolutely lambastes Lias Andersson for deciding to no longer report to the Wolf Pack. It is hard to disagree on that aspect of this whole saga and even more difficult to dispute that this only makes it harder to trade him.

At the conclusion of his column, Brooks speculates about a trade scenario of Lias Andersson to Nashville for offensively talented Eeli Tolvanen. If anyone is paying attention, he is the prospect Nashville refused to part with in order to land Rick Nash a few seasons ago.

While Brooks wonders why Tolvanen is still stuck playing in Milwaukee, most around the Predators feel he is an NHL ready prospect. As to why he hasn’t made it to Nashville full time remains to be seen, but if Andersson couldn’t land Jesse Puljujarvi from Edmonton in a deal, I don’t believe he will for Tolvanen either.

More players like Kreider and Lemieux wanted!

The Rangers desire to land a forward more willing to go up and down the ice in a straight line, is about a need. The Rangers are loaded with guys who love to play all over the ice. A majority of the forwards love to zig and zag, make cross ice feeds, and do figure 8s until fans start pulling their hair out. Simply put, the Rangers don’t have enough Kreider and Lemieux type players who love to just charge to the net and plant their big butts in the goalie’s grill.

If I am being honest, Kreider also likes to play east-west hockey from time to time. Right now, only Brendan Lemieux and Gregg McKegg consistently play north-south games and the Rangers desperately need to diversify their offense.

The question is, who’s out there and available? Both Tolvanen and Puljujarvi (who is ineligible this season) aren’t really north-south players. Ironically it is Lias Andersson who fits that description more than the other guys just mentioned.

Good Luck Jeff!

Never say never, but as we near the trade deadline and see players like Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes, and Adam McQuaid scratched it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Chris Kreider will be traded. Although rumors that Toronto, Boston, and Nashville have inquired about the Rangers best winger, the price is too rich for those GM’s.

Jeff Gorton has three assets in play to acquire picks and prospects going into the deadline. Kevin Hayes is the most likely to net a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. Other players that Gorton could move before Monday are Vlad Namestnikov, Ryan Strome, and Brendan Smith. All those players will load up the Rangers’ prospect pipeline.

When it come to Chris Kreider, Gorton isn’t actively shopping him like the players mentioned above. In contrast, teams are asking about his availability and it sounds like Gorton will only move him for a monster deal.

Speculation on the ask has been a 1st round pick and a top prospect for starters. One team that may have already balked at that demand are the Nashville Predators. Giving up Eeli Tolvanen and their 1st round pick is just too much at this time. That could change at 2:59PM on Monday, but it remains unlikely.

The bottom line is Kreider has one year left on his contract so if teams want him they must pay the maximum price. Jeff Gorton also does not need to trade him this season for a multitude of reasons. The primary one being that if you want to trade him as a rental next deadline he will still get you at least a 1st round pick in the 2020 draft.

Keep all this in mind as Kreider’s name pops up until 3PM Monday.

Vitali Kravtsov and his team Traktor Chelyabinsk qualified for the KHL playoffs today before they even hit the ice. The only remaining team that could knock them out of eighth place, Sibir Novosibirsk, lost today to Avtomobilist.

It is the second consecutive year for Kravtsov to be playing in the postseason in Russia. Last year, he had a strong postseason that saw him climb up the draft rankings with 11 points in 16 games, which is the most by any teenager in a single KHL postseason. His team lost to the eventual champions AK Bars in the conference finals. His strong postseason saw Kravtsov win rookie of the year honors over Nashville Predators prospect Eeli Tolvanen. In addition, if you include the Russian Superleague (RSL), which was in existence from 1992-93 – 2007-08, Kravtsov’s 11 points in the 2018 Gagarin Cup Playoffs were tied for the third-most by a teenager in one playoff year since 1992-93. Since 1992-93, the only teenagers who recorded more points than Kravtsov in one playoff year in Russia’s highest league of professional hockey were Maxim Afinogenov (16 in 1998-99) and Evgeni Malkin (15 in 2005-06), and he is tied for first among 18-year-olds in points in one playoff year over the span.

In the first round, Traktor will take on Avtomobilist, the team that clinched it for them today, and Rangers fans will see a familiar face on that team, Nigel Dawes, who is second in the KHL in goals behind Kirill Kaprizov. What does this mean for Kravtsov’s plans to come to North America? The graph below will explain it to you:

If Kravtsov decides to come over on an entry-level contract, it is most likely only in the summer, and there are two reasons for this. First, his ELC cannot slide. Kravtsov was born in 1999 and will likely sign his ELC in 2019, the calendar year of his 20th birthday. Therefore, his contract is not “slide eligible” and will count the moment he plays his first game in the NHL. Secondly, the Seattle expansion draft in 2021 changes things as well. If the ELC counts this season, Kravtsov needs protection for the expansion draft. If his ELC kicks in over the summer (July 1st), he would be exempt.

Later today, Kravtsov plays in the penultimate game of the season against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and their final game on Friday will be against SKA St. Petersburg, the team of fellow Rangers prospect Igor Shestyorkin.

Nashville is considered a Stanley Cup contender. They currently sit second in the Western Conference and 7th overall in the NHL. When you look up the definition of a “Win Now” team you will see a picture of the Predators.

Matt Larkin of The Hockey News noted that the acquisition of Brian Boyle solidifies Nashville’s bottom six but they are lacking in top 6 talent on the 2nd line. Paul Skrbina who covers the Predators for The Tennessean believes that the cost for Artemi Panarin may be too high but thinks Chris Kreider or Jakob Silfverberg would be a fit.

Prized Prospect Eeli Tolvanen

Last year, the Rangers were shopping Rick Nash and one team that was said to be hot after him were the Nashville Predators. The speculation was that the Rangers wanted Eeli Tolvanen in the deal and David Poile refused to part with him in any trade. Nash eventually landed in Boston for a handsome return and Nashville still doesn’t have a Championship.

Now there’s talk that the Predators have changed their tune on Tolvanen as he is struggling in the AHL right now. Of course, no one should be giving up on prized prospects. Especially those that set records in the KHL for scoring for players under 20 and then light up the Olympics.

However, even Pierre Lebrun wrote in The Athletic that Nashville isn’t good enough. If the Predators want to make a run at the Cup they should move whatever they can to land Columbus’ rental, Artemi Panarin.

Still, is it wise to move a player like Tolvanen for a rental? They didn’t for Rick Nash so why would they for Panarin.

Kreider Makes Sense

Chris Kreider is a big strong skater and your prototypical playoff performer. His size and speed are wanted in those tight games where even a big screen could mean the difference between a win or a loss.

When it comes to stats, Kreider has 24 goals and 42 points in 55 games this season. Panarin of course is a better offensive player with 21 goals and 63 points but lacks the one thing Kreider has; term on his contract.

If Poile wanted to sleep better in a trade that moves a highly touted prospect, and that is all Tolvanen is, then he could do a lot worse than Kreider. Of course the consensus is that the Rangers are not interested in trading Kreider but that doesn’t mean they won’t listen.

Bob McKenzie stated on a February 6th NBC broadcast that if the Rangers were to get “a foundational young building block player that is very close to playing in the NHL” they may do it. Eeli Tolvanen is just that kind of return that could coax GM, Jeff Gorton into parting ways with hands down one of the Rangers top 3 forwards.

The New York Rangers are going to look very different next season both upfront and on the blueline. As you all know, the rebuild is starting soon and many big names will be moved out within the next few months. We’ve written about it quite a bit on the site but today we’re going to look at the ideal Rangers lineup for next season. Now full disclosure: this lineup isn’t based on any rumors or inside info that I have. It’s simply ideas that I have that I think would set the Rangers up best for future success.

We begin with the three trades that will be the basis of our new Rangers lineup. Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, and Mats Zuccarello are all traded and have new homes for the playoffs. Michael Grabner and Nick Holden are as well but consider the returns on both of them mid-round picks. Those two aren’t as highly sought after as three aforementioned players, so we’ll begin with Ryan McDonagh.

Ryan McDonagh traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and a Second Round Pick in 2018

If Tampa Bay wants McDonagh as much as rumors say they do, this is the offer that will get them the Rangers captain. This is a better offer than anything Boston could offer the Rangers because it’s no secret that Long Island native Charlie McAvoy isn’t going anywhere, and neither is David Pastrnak. Sergachev is one of the game’s premier young defensemen, and at just 19 years of age, would be one of the Rangers building blocks for the future and would be our workhorse number one defenseman in just a few seasons.

Sergachev has eight goals and 22 assists this season for a total of 30 points in 56 games. He’s on the second power-play unit in Tampa Bay and has extremely smart hockey sense. He was highly touted coming out of juniors and the kid has everything to succeed in this league as a number one defensemen. Next season, Sergachev could see top pair minutes but he would most likely stick to the second pair as he filled out more and continued his development. Sergachev would almost certainly see first unit power-play minutes as well.

On Tampa Bay’s side of things, they acquire one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL today and a pairing of McDonagh and Victor Hedman would help Tampa Bay compete for the cup for the next few season. It hurts their future a bit since McDonagh is older than Sergachev, but if McDonagh helps them win a cup, I’m sure GM Steve Yzerman and the fans won’t be too upset.

Mats Zuccarello traded to the Winnipeg Jets for prospect Kristian Vesalainen and a First Round Pick in 2018

Now I know this one hurts also folks. Zuccarello is one of the most beloved players on this Rangers roster but if the Rangers could get this offer out of the Jets, they have to jump on it. Zuccarello is a skilled player, no doubt about it, but the upside of Vesalainen is too good to pass up here. This trade was arguably the hardest for me to think of out of the big three the Rangers are thinking of trading, but this trade arguably makes the most sense for both squads.

USA Today

The Rangers get a big-bodied player with a massive amount of offensive upside. Vesalainen has already won an SHL title and was the most impressive player at the U18 World Junior Championships back in 2017. His development has taken a massive leap this season as he has 38 points in 42 games for his team HPK in Finland’s top hockey league, Liiga. He only had six goals spread amongst the three teams he played for last season. Oh and he’s only 18 years old.

I could see Vesalainen stepping into a role with the Rangers as early as next season. Where would he fit on the team? Middle six would probably be the best spot for him to land as he would need to get accustomed to the North American ice surface. But make no mistake, with time, Vesalainen is a top-six player for the Rangers and depending on how quickly he adjusts, it could be next season.

On Winnipeg’s side of things, they get one of the craftiest playmakers in the league and arguably become the team with the deepest and scariest forward corps in the league. They would now have a top six of Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mats Zuccarello and Bryan Little. That top six has it all. Skill, size, and speed dominate that lineup and if we look even further their third line blossoms as well. Mathieu Perrault, Kyle Connor, and Andrew Copp make a great third line. The Jets are already looking like a scary team this season, but with Zuccarello, they would be that much better in their quest for the Stanley Cup.

Rick Nash traded to the Nashville Predators for Eeli Tolvanen (Rangers retain 50% salary for Nash)

Now this one is fun to think about. Tolvanen is one of the best prospects in the game and is currently tearing it up at the Olympics where he has six points in two games. He is also having a breakout year for Jokerit in the KHL, where he has 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points in 47 games. And by the way, he’s only 18 years old.

Getty Images

You’ll notice there’s no pick included with this trade and that’s for good reason here. Tolvanen is one of the best prospects in the world and the Rangers should consider themselves lucky if Nashville is willing to part with him for Nash. That being said, Nash is no slouch at all and would instantly make the Predators better at forward and would give GM David Poile that big winger he is looking for at the deadline.

Tolvanen would be on the Rangers roster next year and could possibly see top line minutes. The kid is an absolute stud and for a teenager to be making the impact he is in the KHL is extremely impressive. This is a player who would be an excellent addition to the team and would be one of our top players in the future. I’m talking first power-play minutes and giving the Rangers a player with that fear factor that opponents would have to respect every time he steps on the ice.

On Nashville’s side of things, their top six gets beefed up with the addition of Nash and he would make an imposing presence on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen. That line would be one of the scariest in the league and would further increase Nashville’s chances of winning the Stanley Cup. A top six of Rick Nash, Kevin Fiala, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson and Kyle Turris is scary and would be great for Nashville to have going into the playoffs.

But wait there’s more!

With Zuccarello, McDonagh, Nash, Grabner, and Holden off the team by the deadline, the team calls up the young kids and the growing pains begin and the losses build up. The Rangers fall in the standings but there is hope for the future as they get a top-five pick in the draft lottery. For argument’s sake, they don’t receive the first overall because let’s face it, they aren’t going to be that bad. So who does Jeff Gorton pick with their top five pick? Thankfully there is a bevy of good options.

With a high end pick the Rangers select either Filip Zadina, Andrei Svechnikov or Brady Tkachuk. Any of those three guys would be welcome on the team and all three have amazing potential to do great things in this league. Zadina and Svechnikov are snipers through and through and getting to play with Zibanejad, Chytil or Andersson is tantalizing as those three can set up plays for them. Zadina is currently with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL where he has 35 goals and 28 assists for 63 points in 44 games. Zadina also played with Filip Chytil at the World Junior Championships on the top line for the Czech Republic, where Zadina had eight points (7G, A), while Chytil had four points (2G, 2A) in the seven games of the tournament. Svechnikov is currently with the Barrie Colts of the OHL where he has 30 goals and 18 assists for 48 points in 32 games.

Tkachuk was an absolute standout at this year’s world junior championship in Buffalo, and although he isn’t the sniper that Svechnikov or Zadina is, his value is in the ability to be hard on the puck and make his physical presence known. This isn’t to say that he can’t score goals, but he is a different type of player than the other two are. Basically, he’s an upgraded version of his brother Matthew, who currently plays for the Calgary Flames. Brady currently attends and plays for Boston University where has 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 30 games.

The 2018-19 New York Rangers

Without further ado, here is the ideal lineup for the New York Rangers next season.

Forwards

Pavel Buchnevich – Mika Zibanejad – Eeli Tolvanen

Chris Kreider – Filip Chytil – Zadina/Svechnikov/Tkachuk

Kristian Vesalainen – Kevin Hayes – J.T. Miller

Jesper Fast – Lias Andersson – Jimmy Vesey

Defense

Brady Skjei – Kevin Shattenkirk

Mikhail Sergachev – Neal Pionk

John Gilmour – Tony DeAngelo

Goalies

Henrik Lundqvist

Ondrej Pavelec

Yes, this team is extremely young and will have some growing pains going forward. The important thing here is that there are some veterans mixed in to show the young guys the ropes in Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, Brady Skjei, Kevin Shattenkirk and of course Henrik Lundqvist.

There are more questions of course: will Chytil or Andersson develop into a number one center? Can Mika Zibanejad put it all together and stay healthy? Is the defense good enough to succeed or do they need to add another veteran piece like a Ron Hainsey or a Nicklas Hjalmarsson? Can Hank keep up his stellar play?

One thing to note is that this team will probably not have any issues putting the puck in the net once the rookies get acclimated to the North American ice. A top six of Buchnevich, Zibanejad, Tolvanen, Chytil, Kreider and one of those top 2018 guys would be so skillful and full of potential. If they all developed right it could be the most talented offensive teams in Rangers history.

Now, there is one last thing. The Rangers could also opt to take a defenseman like Adam Boqvist, Noah Dobson or Evan Bouchard and in that case…

Forwards

Pavel Buchnevich – Mika Zibanejad – Eeli Tolvanen

Chris Kreider – Filip Chytil – Kristian Vesalainen

Jimmy Vesey – Kevin Hayes – J.T. Miller

Jesper Fast – Lias Andersson – Vinni Lettieri

Defense

Brady Skjei – Kevin Shattenkirk

Mikhail Sergachev – Boqvist/Dobson/Bouchard

Neal Pionk – Tony DeAngelo

Goalies

Henrik Lundqvist

Ondrej Pavelec

If the Rangers went this route, the defense would have just that much more potential and a puck mover like Boqvist, Dobson or Bouchard would be awesome to add to the d-corps on Broadway. All three are projected to go very high in this draft. Bottom line here is that a top ten pick for the Rangers would do wonders for them as the rebuild pushes on.

Recently on the site, Michael Kaplan wrote about placing the blame for this terrible start on Jeff Gorton. If you read his article, Kaplan hits on a lot of points but there’s one in particular that needs to be addressed further. This organization may have made a grave mistake in this past entry draft with their picks and years down the road we could be looking at another 2003/2006/2010 situation where they are kicking themselves for what could have been. Let’s dive in.

Over the summer, Jeff Gorton seemed to speak a lot about “retooling on the fly.” Basically, this team knew that they weren’t going to win the big one with this current roster and opted to get younger and faster. Well, that’s all fine and dandy if the right type of prospect is picked in the draft and the right types of players are signed to replace those that departed. With the pick of Lias Andersson, who seemingly had all the tools to jump in on the Rangers third line, the Rangers seemingly drafted that right type of prospect to fill a need and jump in. Someone who isn’t a project a few years away. Filip Chytil, who was a bit of a stretch pick but addressed an area of weakness in the center ice position, was a bit of a head-scratcher at first because of his seemingly “project status” but proved enough in camp that he belonged here. Well, once camp ended the problems began.

Right off the bat, Andersson was not picked for the opening night roster. A seventh overall pick, someone who was supposedly going to be given every possible chance to make his mark on the team this season, was immediately sent back to Sweden without a nine-game tryout.

Chytil made the opening night roster but was on one of the shortest leashes I’ve ever seen; getting sent down to the AHL to be replaced by guys like Adam Cracknell and Paul Carey on the big club. Oh boy. There’s a lot wrong here and it goes all the way from Gorton down to coach Alain Vigneault.

If someone is drafted seventh overall, and a team is lucky enough to pick that high, that player MUST be given every opportunity before being sent elsewhere to continue playing. You can’t afford to draft someone that high and not give him a chance. Unless of course, your name is Jeff Gorton or Alain Vigneault. Gorton was expecting this and drafted a “project type” player with this pick. And herein lies the biggest problem I had with the 2017 entry draft for the Rangers. If Gorton was all about retooling on the fly, Andersson would be on this team and contributing any way he could. If he wasn’t producing, then send him down, but at least give the kid a chance. If the organization viewed Andersson as a “project,” then he was the wrong player to have been drafted at number seven overall, where the Rangers should/could have drafted Casey Mittelstadt, Gabe Vilardi, Michael Rasmussen or Nick Suzuki.

Why those four names? Because each fills a position of need; and while each is a few years away, they have much higher ceilings than Andersson. If the plan was to send Andersson back all along, then why use the pick on him when there were plenty of others available with a higher potential to be NHL stars? It’s something that I feel the Rangers really messed up on and it could be another detrimental hit if Andersson doesn’t pan out and those four do.

Down at 21, when the Rangers reached and selected Chytil, there were two prospects that come to mind that the Rangers could’ve reached for instead. Eeli Tolvanen and Klim Kostin are two dynamic offensive prospects who could’ve been the scorer this team desperately needs down the line. Tolvanen is currently tearing up the KHL and as a teenager (teenagers normally don’t get a lot of ice time in the KHL) it is extremely impressive. Kostin will soon be counted upon to be a top-six forward for the Blues. Both would’ve been fantastic additions to our pipeline. Could Chytil turn out to be just as dynamic as both of them? Time will tell.

My one hope for this past draft is that it does not get added to the list of drafts that give me a headache. 2003 is extremely painful as is 2006 and 2010. In each of those drafts, the Rangers had an opportunity to select a superstar caliber player and they missed. Hugh Jessiman, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Dylan McIlrath were terrible misses. Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Shea Weber, Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux or Vladimir Tarasenko could’ve been wearing the Blueshirt, but were missed on draft day.

Let’s hope Andersson and Chytil turn out well in the end, or else we could be adding another draft to the headache list.

Editor’s Note: If you want to hear more about the Rangers and their draft history, listen to our interview with @TheDraftAnalyst, and subscribe to #FullTiltRadio on iTunes, TuneIn, Soundcloud, Stitcher and BlogTalk Radio.