Late Friday night, Ryan Lindgren was among those meeting with the media at Madison Square Garden trying to explain the disappointment of a painful 3-2 Rangers loss that evening to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lindgren and the Rangers woke up Saturday tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference, still four points out of a playoff spot.

Then came the news that Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey were traded by the Rangers to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Calvin de Haan, center Juuso Parssinen and two draft picks. Not a shocker since Lindgren and Vesey are pending UFAs and neither was going to be re-signed this offseason. But still, another significant trade to alter the Rangers core moving forward.

After that, results poured in from around the League, almost each one bad for the idle Rangers’ playoff chances. When the dust settled, the Rangers found themselves tied for 12th in the conference, though still four points out of the second wild card and now six in arrears of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card. But they were passed by the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, and the Philadelphia Flyers pulled even with 62 points.

So, yeah, one day, 24 hours, a lot of change. But the Rangers can flip things on their head with a win against the woeful Nashville Predators on Sunday and the narrative changes again.

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New York Rangers news

Here’s a breakdown of what’s next for the Rangers after swinging the four-player trade with the Avalanche.

The Forever Blueshirts staff hands out trade grades for the Rangers after the deal with the Avalanche.

Speaking of trades, Neil Smith told Forever Blueshirts in an exclusive interview that there’s one deal in 1996 he regrets more than any other from his tenure as Rangers general manager.

Igor Shesterkin’s good buddy Ilya Sorokin was credited with a goalie goal Saturday, and the Islanders netminder made sure to chirp the Rangers slick stick-handling goaltender afterward.

Here were our three Rangers takeaways from the 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Friday.

NHL news

The Rangers and Avalanche weren’t the only ones making a sizeable trade Saturday. The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks for goalie Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round draft pick.

And that’s not all. The Minnesota Wild acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Predators for a second-round pick in 2026.

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand left their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury. There was no update on his condition postgame.

The Bruins went on to edge the Penguins 3-2 for an important road victory.

Not only did the Vancouver Canucks lose 6-3 to the Seattle Kraken, but defenseman Quinn Hughes left the game after “he tweaked something.” Hughes had just recently returned from injury, so this is a major concern for the Canucks.

Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok is expected to make his season debut when they visit the Penguins on Sunday. He’s been out following sports hernia surgery.

The Ottawa Senators ended a five-game losing streak when Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto and Josh Norris each returned from injury for a 5-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks.

The Edmonton Oilers also ended a five-game skid with a 3-1 road win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Look who’s rolling now — the Montreal Canadiens. They won their fourth straight game and moved past the Rangers in the East with a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 884 to move within 11 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL record. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 3-1 for their eighth straight win.

Nico Hischier picked up his 400th NHL point and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Utah Hockey Club 3-1.

Brock Nelson may be on the trade block — or not — but he scored twice to lead the Islanders past the Predators 7-4.

Watch Ilya Sorokin “score” a goalie goal against the Predators.

The Columbus Blue Jackets paid tribute to fallen teammate Johnny Gaudreau to make their 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the 2025 Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium even more special.

Watch the highlights from the Blue Jackets’ outdoor win against the Red Wings.

President and General Manager Chris Dury is more likely to target a top six forward with many believing the Blueshirts are the front-runners to land Patrick Kane. Team owner, James Dolan inadvertently tipped his team’s hand with comments made on Good Day NY on Thursday morning.

“I think the Rangers are really cooking and they’ve got a shot to win the whole thing,” Dolan said with excitement in his voice.

That being said, there are questions looming as to Kane’s health and a nagging lower-body injury that may require surgery. Regardless, even if Kane isn’t there they can go after the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko or James van Riemsdyk on the rental market.

Of course, there’s no guarantee the Rangers will land any of the big fish and may opt to go a route similar to last season. At the previous deadline, they added Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp, Tyler Motte, and Justin Braun in an effort to fill holes and improve depth.

It most certainly worked and led to a run to the Eastern Conference Final. Here’s a look at some mid-tier targets the Rangers are rumored to be interested in this Spring.

New York Rangers mid-tier trade targets

Max Domi, Chicago Blackhawks

There’s obviously been a lot of focus on Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews out of Chicago, but Domi is a player that the Rangers have been intrigued with for a while. He’s a feisty forward with a scoring touch and has notched 33 points in 46 games this season. Plus, the 27 year-old only has a cap hit of $3M AAV. Another added bonus is his ability to play center, which is always nice to have in the playoffs.

Gustav Nyquist, Columbus Blue Jackets

Nyquist, 33, has picked up 22 points in 48 games this season on a very bad Blue Jackets squad. If the Rangers miss on Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko he could be a nice option. According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Blueshirts might be a landing spot for his services. The Rangers may also want the Jackets to eat a little of his $5.5M cap hit.

Ivan Barbashev, St. Louis Blues

The Blues are a very interesting team at this trade deadline as they teeter for a playoff spot. Right now, they’re on the outside looking in and will be selling their pending UFA’s which includes Barbashev. This season, he’s recorded 23 points in 48 games and plays the heavy game that Gerard Gallant covets. The 27 year-old plays all forward positions and only has a cap hit of $2.25M. Keep this in mind, the Rangers love his game so much they recently drafted his little brother Maxim.

Nick Ritchie, Arizona Coyotes

According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, the Rangers have already checked in on forward Nick Ritchie whom they had interest in last trade deadline. The 27 year-old, has registered 18 points in 45 games this season. The pending UFA has a cap hit of $2.5M and would be a nice addition to the Rangers fourth line for the playoffs.

Tyler Motte, Ottawa Senators

The Rangers wanted to keep Motte after a successful run in the playoffs where he was a key contributor on the PK. Unfortunately the cap space wasn’t there to keep him around in October but a reunion has been speculated for months. This season, the 27 year-old has posted 9 points in 32 games and has a manageable cap hit of just $1.35M. He’s currently out of action with a broken finger suffered in late December.

NHL News and Rumors

NHL Recaps. All the latest scores here.

Ryan O’Reilly open to discount to stay with Blues. Read more.

Gary Bettman claims there’s no tanking in the NHL. Read more.

NHL Rumors: Tarasenko, Karlsson, and Meier. Read more.

Let’s dive in…

Tyler Seguin

The 26 year old will be the most coveted UFA next summer, IF he gets there. While it is believed that both sides are working towards an extension, Seguin could still wait to explore the UFA market and cash in John Tavares style.

A player like Seguin signing for the bright lights of Broadway would put the rebuild into overdrive. The cost would exceed 10 million a season for 7 years, but Seguin is more than worth it. The center is coming off a 40 goal and 78 points season and his scoring should only continue climb.

If Seguin makes it to the market, the Rangers must pull a Toronto. That means all the stops and a promo video where a CGI Seguin is hoisting a Cup at center ice at MSG and rolling in a car going down the canyon of heroes.

Artemi Panarin

The Rangers were immediately linked to Panarin when news came out that he was made available. There is no doubt that a player like Panarin would catapult the Blueshirts into contention. In three NHL seasons, the LW has totaled 233 points in just 243 games.

Panarin’s current cap hit is $6 million and he will command a significant increase. If the Rangers miss out on Seguin, they would do very well with Panarin. Seguin’s advantage over Panarin is his position, as centers are valuable assets in today’s NHL.

Matt Duchene

Ottawa paid a steep price to acquire Duchene last season. Since then, they have been in turmoil and may be going in a complete rebuild direction. This is especially true if Erik Karlsson is indeed dealt.

The 27 year old center is currently making $6 million on the cap and won’t command a salary anywhere near Seguin. That’s simply because he hasn’t scored more than 30 goals or 70 points in any single season. Last year was even more disappointing as he scored only 59 points and the Senators may consider trading him at the deadline.

If that’s the case, the Rangers should avoid trading assets for him and sign him in July.

Jeff Skinner

The 26 year old center has a world of talent that has yet to reach full potential. Rumors have the Hurricanes possibly trading him, if not now then at the deadline. If that’s the case, the Rangers should approach him just like Duchene. Avoid trading assets and sign him in July.

Skinner’s current deal comes with a $5.725 million cap hit and if he were to hit free agency, it would take upwards of $7 million to land him. If the Rangers miss out on the top 3, then they should give him a look.

Honorable Mention

Gustav Nyquist

Nyquist is just one of those players that has a knack for scoring. The 28 year old will be a UFA next summer and is a perennial 20 goal scorer. He currently makes $4.75M and should still come at a reasonable price in the summer.

If the Rangers do move on from Mats Zuccarello this season, Nyquist would make a nice addition with any of the names mentioned above.

This is the Quick Hits recap of the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Red Wings.

Goalie Duel: The talk of the game through the first two periods was the Goaltending Duel that was taking place. Not only did Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves on the night, during the first 44 minutes of the game he was dueling with Howard on the other end. Lundqvist remained on-point, keeping the Rangers alive, particularly through the first period when they were still skating to get their feet under them rather than skating to play. He faced breakaways from both Nyquist and Larkin in the first, shutting them both down. Howard on the other end continued to deny the Rangers with a series of stellar saves. The duel came to an end in the third period when Tatar went top shelf on Lundqvist.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/934248484135456768

KZB Line: The KZB line continues to dominate on offense — so much so that you can almost forgive the lack of defensive play. Kreider is one of those players that you love to watch. He’s nitty, gritty and when he scores, he lets you know how happy he is. He tied the game up at the 10:17 mark with a backhand through the 5-hole, off a pass from Buchnevich who battled hard for the puck in front of the net. Celebrations promptly followed.

Mats Zuccarello: Zuccarello was visible on the ice almost all night, whether he was making slick passes or trying to whack pucks past Howard. He also won the game for the Rangers at just 37 seconds into OT off a pass from Skjei. He elevated it and went top shelf on Howard, gaining the team the extra point.

Other notes: Boo Nieves left the game in the second period and didn’t return due to a lower body injury. When asked about it in the post-game presser, Vigneault said it was a hip pointer and he doesn’t think it’ll be anything serious. McDonagh missed the game, his second straight, with a strained abdomen and it’s currently unclear whether or not he’ll be playing in Sunday’s game.

The Rangers face the Canucks next on home ice at MSG at 2pm EST.

Follow us on Twitter, @4BNYRGameday, for live tweets and in-depth analysis of every Rangers game!

LET’S GO RANGERS!

For all the talk of changing the Rangers, they have yet to make a trade of consequence. Maybe they need some help, so I’m going to put my best foot forward and give it a try. My first target, Gustav Nyquist.

Let me start out with that I am a huge fan of Nyquist and his game. I think the 26 year old Swede is an immense talent with an ability to score goals all by his lonesome. He’s a RW that shoots left, which the Rangers have in abundance, but his name has come up in some recent rumors and he’s worth looking at.

Detroit went out and signed Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott on July 1st. However, they moved Datsyuk’s contract in order to free up space to land a star forward, Stamkos which never came to fruition. So could the Rangers’ Rick Nash be a possibility?

As of right now, Nyquist and Tomas Tatar‘s names have been thrown about in trade rumors. Detroit is in need of a top pairing defenseman, which unfortunately the Rangers don’t have one to send over. So this whole scenario is likely moot, but still fun to ponder.

Rumors have the Wings hoping to entice Anaheim to take one (not both) for Cam Fowler or to St. Louis for Kevin Shattenkirk. After the Blues’ GM in essence took Shattenkirk off the table after free agent frenzy passed, that limits their options. Rumor has it that the Ducks want Dylan Larkin to start for Fowler, so it looks like a Wings search for a defenseman that can at least play in their top 4 will have to wait.

Losing out on Stamkos and the retirement of Datsyuk leaves the Wings with a big void. Could a deal sending Nash for Nyquist help Detroit? The answer is yes, especially for the short term. Immediately, Detroit gets a winger that has 40 goal potential (Nyquist has never scored more than 28) and averages about 70 points (Nyqvist’s top total was 54). Nash can kill penalties and play the power play. He is also a leader that can help the younger players develop.

Contractually, Nyquist comes with a cap hit of 4.75M until 2018/19. Nash’s hit is 3M more at 7.8M but ends 1 season earlier. Here’s the kicker though and let me know if this sound familiar, Nash has a limited no trade clause which requires Detroit to be on his list, but Nyquist will have a full no trade clause kick in next summer.

Yes, just like the issue that faced Montreal before dealing P.K. Subban and the decision the Rangers are going to face with Derek Stepan next summer. When Nashville acquired P.K., they opted not to honor his clause and Detroit may be trying to get out of Nyqvist’s handcuff before that happens.

Another possibility could be trading Chris Kreider for Nyquist should CK want over 5M per season. Both are great young players, with one being more of a power forward (CK20) and the other more finesse oriented (Nyquist).

Neither trade with the Rangers answers the Wings’ need for defense, but they could improve their offense with Nash and use Tatar with a prospect to find a defenseman at some point before the season starts.

The deal makes sense for both sides, even if I think it’s unlikely. Either way, just throwing some ideas out there Gorton.