After going 2-1-0 despite playing poorly against the three weakest teams in the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, the Rangers outshot the Maple Leafs 35-16 and outplayed them for long stretches. But they never led, and Matthew Knies’ goal at 6:21 of the third period put the Maple Leafs ahead to stay in a 3-2 victory that moved them into first place in the Atlantic Division.

It was a damaging loss for the Rangers, who remained in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference after failing for the fifth straight time to win three in a row, something they haven’t done since Nov. 14-19. They’re still four points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets, who own the two wild-card berths entering their NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. All three teams have played 59 games.

New York was playing catch-up all night after allowing a power-play goal by Oliver Ekman-Larsson 1:47 into the game. Mika Zibanejad tied it with less than six minutes remaining in the period, but Toronto went ahead again 51 seconds into the second period on William Nylander’s unassisted goal.

Zibanejad set up Will Cuylle’s game-tying short-handed goal 3:47 into the third period. But Toronto went ahead to stay just 2:34 later on Knies’ 22nd goal, then survived a barrage of shots down the stretch by the Rangers.

“When they got a look in the third period, they buried it,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We couldn’t find the third one.”

Igor Shesterkin, coming off back-to-back brilliant efforts in the wins at Pittsburgh and the Islanders, was just OK against Toronto. He allowed three goals on just 17 shots, matching the fewest the Rangers have allowed this season. He was outplayed by Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz, who finished with 33 saves.

“I felt we deserved a better fate,” Cuylle said.

The Rangers dominated play for most of the night without their best defenseman, Adam Fox, who’s on injured reserve after sustaining an upper-body injury Tuesday in a 5-1 win against the Islanders. However, defenseman K’Andre Miller (lower-body injury sustained vs. Isles) and center J.T. Miller (illness) each dressed and took a regular shift.

Related: Zach Jones getting wish to play at most critical moment of Rangers season

Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – New York Rangers 2

The Rangers got off to the kind of start that gives coaches nightmares.

Auston Matthews misfired on a wide-open shot from the slot six seconds after the opening face-off, but drew a tripping penalty on Zibanejad 12 seconds later.

Toronto’s five-forward first power-play unit did nothing, but the second unit wasted no time putting the Maple Leafs in front. Max Domi controlled the puck in the left circle and floated a pass that landed right on the stick of Ekman-Larsson near the top of the right circle. The veteran defenseman rocketed a shot off the near post and into the net at 1:47 to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

The Rangers tightened up after that, controlling play and holding Toronto without a shot on goal for more than eight minutes before Shesterkin had to make a big stop on Mitch Marner in the crease. New York nearly tied it at 10:41 by using the same strategy that was so effective in the 5-1 road win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday – going to the net and looking for tips and rebounds. Vincent Trocheck got a piece of Urho Vaakanainen’s shot from the left point, but the tip went just wide.

Zibanejad atoned for his penalty when he did tie the game at 13:08, again using the go-to-the-net strategy. J.T. Miller had a shot blocked, but the puck came to Will Borgen, who fired from the top of the right circle. Zibanejad got a stick on the puck and deflected it past Stolarz for his 13th goal of the season, extending his point streak to five games.

Borgs with the shot + Mika redirects it. pic.twitter.com/2tc9tkUsGy

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 1, 2025

“It was a great heads-up play by Borgs,” Zibanejad told MSG Networks during the first intermission.

The Rangers dominated play for the rest of the period but couldn’t get another puck past Stolarz before time ran out, leaving the score tied 1-1 despite New York’s 14-5 lead in shots on goal, 29-11 advantage in attempts and, according to Natural Stat trick, a 9-3 edge in high-danger scoring chances.

Related: Mike Richter remains bullish on Rangers despite struggles

Toronto struck for another early goal to begin the second period after a bad line change enabled Nylander to go in alone on Shesterkin. Though Vaakanainen disrupted the shot and the puck trickled wide, Nylander got to it first and slid the puck back into the crease, where Shesterkin inadvertently knocked it into his own net at the 51-second mark. The original call of no goal was quickly overturned by video review, leaving Toronto ahead 2-1.

New York killed off Ryan Lindgren’s interference penalty at 1:34 and nearly tied it at 6:20 when Trocheck made a terrific move to sneak through the defense and get off a quick shot. Stolarz was surprised but made the save and covered.

The Rangers got their first power play at 13:10 when Bobby McMann was called for holding Braden Schneider just seconds after Schneider helped break up his dash to the net. The Rangers did little offensively until they were called for too many men at 14:54.

Jonny Brodzinski, coming off the first two-goal game of his career against the Islanders, nearly tied it with 50 seconds left. His rip from the right of the slot beat Stolarz cleanly but hit the crossbar.

John Tavares’ interference penalty with 3.1 seconds left gave the Rangers their second power play, and J.T. Miller forced Stolarz to make a big save just before the buzzer went off, keeping the score 2-1 through 40 minutes.

The Rangers didn’t generate much during the power play, then gave the Leafs their fourth man advantage when Sam Carrick was called for cross-checking. But instead of falling behind by two goals, the Rangers tied it on Cuylle’s shorthanded goal.

COOLS WITH A BEAUTY. pic.twitter.com/9Nb5rmiq3P

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 1, 2025

Cuylle started the play by picking off a pass by Nicholas Robertson in the Rangers’ zone and broke out 2-on-1 with Zibanejad. They played give-and-go, with Cuylle taking Zibanejad’s feed and beating Stolarz with a terrific backhand deke to make it 2-2.

Trocheck nearly put the Rangers ahead less than 20 seconds later when he beat Stolarz but rang the post.

Knies then put Toronto ahead for the third time by converting a pass from Matthews after a terrific play by Marner, who jumped up to knock down a rim-around by Shesterkin behind the net. This time, the Rangers couldn’t find the equalizer.

The Rangers have a rare Saturday off before playing back-to-back home games against the Nashville Predators on Sunday and the Islanders on Monday.

So, despite looking like dog poop for the first two games out of the break — even though they miraculously won one of them, 5-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday — the Rangers (28-25-4) are in in a good spot with 24 games to play following their 5-1 win against the Islanders on Tuesday.

The Rangers were not as good as the final score indicated, though they did some things very, very well. Igor Shesterkin again was excellent, finishing with 36 saves. And the bottom-six forward group were game changers, especially the fourth line which accounted for three goals.

And how about defenseman Urho Vaakanainen? He logged nearly 21 minutes TOI and notched the first three-point game of his NHL career.

Plus it was a pretty heroic effort by the D-corps, which was down to four healthy defenders after Adam Fox (upper body in third period) and K’Andre Miller (lower body in second period) left with injuries. It got so dire at one point when Braden Schneider was hobbled following a blocked shot, that center Mika Zibanejad took a shift on defense.

All hands on deck and the Rangers grinded out a win and perhaps knocked the Islanders out of playoff contention. Their archrivals have lost four straight and are leaking goals against in a bad way lately. The Islanders are seven points out of the wild card in the East and sit in 14th place.

Of course, now all attention is on Fox and Miller. The Rangers really can’t afford to lose one of them for any stretch much less each of their top two defensemen.

The Ottawa Senators are the only team in this wild-card chase that plays Wednesday — they’re looking to end a four-game skid against the first-overall Winnipeg Jets, who’ve won a franchise-record 10 games in a row.

More are in action Thursday; and the Rangers are back at it Friday at home against the tough Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stay tuned. It’s getting really interesting.

Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

Here are three Rangers takeaways from the win on Long Island, including career nights for Jonny Brodzinski and Urho Vaakanainen.

It was a big win Tuesday, but it might be a costly one for the Rangers, who await word on injured defensemen Fox and Miller.

Gabe Perreault tops our weekly Rangers NCAA prospects report. The sophomore forward from Boston College reached and passed the 100-point milestone in his collegiate career.

NHL news

In light of the Fox and Miller injuries, here’s a look at the top NHL defenseman expected to be traded ahead of the March 7 deadline.

The Rangers aren’t the only team dealing with injuries to key players. The Maple Leafs first lost defenseman Chris Tanev with an upper-body injury in their game against the Boston Bruins. Then star forward William Nylander skipped overtime against the Bruins because “something was bothering him.”

Despite that, the Maple Leafs staged a wild comeback and defeated the listing Bruins 5-4 in OT.

Roman Josi left the Nashville Predators’ 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers when his head hit the boards after a check from behind by Sam Bennett.

Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson was being evaluated postgame after crashing into the boards in the third period of a 4-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Joel Eriksson Ek is week to week with an upper-body injury for the Minnesota Wild.

Seth Jones had plenty to say after the Chicago Blackhawks latest loss, 2-1 to the Utah Hockey Club. The frustrated defenseman, who’s on the trade block said, “We haven’t made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team, and it shows.”

Far less frustrated is John Tavares of the Maple Leafs, a pending UFA who said that he’d “love” to sign a new deal with Toronto ahead of the trade deadline.

The time may never be better for the middle-of-the-road St. Louis Blues to trade goalie Jordan Binnington after his star turn at the 4 Nations Face-Off for Canada. It’s an intriguing option. Did anyone say Edmonton Oilers?

Andrew Copp is out for the season following pectoral surgery. So, what do the Detroit Red Wings do now?

The Red Wings rallied from two goals down to beat the Wild 3-2 and remain in sole possession of the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 30th goal for the 19th time in his NHL career and moved within 12 goals of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, but the Washington Capitals lost to the Calgary Flames, 3-1.

Kirill Marchenko scored twice to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Dallas Stars 6-4.

Two teams heading in opposite directions. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their sixth game in a row, 4-1 over the Oilers, who’ve lost four straight.

The Philadelphia Flyers exploded for a 6-1 win against the sinking Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 31-year-old has 11 goals and 37 points in 55 games this season, but has really increased his offensive output over the past five games, scoring two goals and adding six assists. He had two more assists when the Rangers rallied past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in their final game before the break.

It is very possible that the uptick in production is due to the acquisition of J.T. Miller, who’s made an immediate impact for New York playing on a line with Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. Zibanejad’s game took off, and has continued even though he was on a different line in Columbus.

The last time Sweden won a Gold Medal at the WJC was an overtime game-winner in 2012.

The goal scorer?

Mika Zibanejad. pic.twitter.com/hTDWYWW1JF

— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) December 26, 2024

For the next two weeks, Zibanejad will have a new set of linemates in William Nylander and Rickard Rakell as he trades in his Broadway Blueshirt for the Tre Kronor of Sweden.

Rackell, who scored against the Rangers on Friday in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 win, had 25 goals and 48 points in 56 games this season. The 31-year-old is a six-time 20-goal scorer.

Your #NYR representative on Team Sweden pic.twitter.com/9yxTL4mOWD

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 11, 2025

Nylander leads the Toronto Maple Leafs and is second in the NHL with 33 goals. The 28-year-old is averaging a point per game with 55 points in 55 games and scored scored 40 goals each of the past two seasons.

“I’m not really surprised how good he is, but it’s just in terms of his, I think, just the puck-handling. And the way he sees the ice, obviously his all-around game, really,” Zibanejad said about Nylander. “The way he’s been for the past couple of years has been awesome to see. Maybe not as much fun to play against, but I get a chance to play with him now, so I’m excited.”

Related: Grading New York Rangers goalies, defensemen at 4 Nations break in NHL schedule

Mika Zibanejad will play significant role for Sweden at 4 Nations

Zibanejad and Nylander will be the one-two punch on the top line for Sweden, which features other talented players such as Jesper Bratt (New Jersey), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), Victor Headman (Tampa Bay), and Linus Ullmark (Ottawa).

While Sweden is likely not the betting favorite against the United States or Canada, they still have an impressive roster. For Zibanejad, he’ll likely assume a similar role comparable to what he does in New York, playing on a top line 5v5, power play and penalty kill. With a player of Nylander’s caliber on his line, the game could open up even more for Zibanejad offensively, especially with how his game has been as of late.

“I think you already felt chemistry right off the bat in practice, so that was nice,” said Nylander of Zibanejad and Rakell.

Of course, it will be a true test going up against a team that consists of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan Mackinnon for Canada, or the Tkachuk brothers paired up with Jack Hughes for the United States. Don’t count Finland out either as Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen are teaming up. That being said, playing big games for Sweden is nothing new for Zibanejad.

Perhaps his best career moment was his golden goal at the 2012 World Junior Championship, which gave Sweden the 1-0 win over Russia. He also won gold for Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, scoring in that game as well.

On Tuesday, Zibanejad told Mollie Walker of the NY Post just how thrilled he is with this latest international opportunity.

“I feel like a kid again, honestly. Speaking Swedish to my teammates, having meetings in Swedish, it just kind of brings you back,” he said. “I’ve been away for, what, 14 years now from Swedish hockey? I feel like it doesn’t take a very long time to get used to the guys, to the coaches, to just the way of thinking I guess. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s exciting. Obviously, we want to win and that’s the mentality we’re going in with tomorrow. Nothing changes there, but I think there’s a different excitement for a tournament like this.”

Zibanejad will be called on again for Sweden to put up some big performance if they want to upset in the 4 Nations Face-off. Each team will play three games in a round-robin format. Teams will earn three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero for a regulation loss.

The top two teams in points will battle for the championship.

While Rangers fans can’t take their eyes off the shiny object that is unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin, GM Jeff Gorton may have his eyes on other more pressing free agents that fill a dire need. This isn’t to say that Panarin is not a target, but that he may not be at the top of the list.

Kakko Changes Everything

All last season, speculation from insiders like Elliotte Friedman and Pierre Lebrun had Panarin going to free agency and signing with the Rangers. While this could still be the case, the moment the Rangers won the #2 pick at the draft lottery likely altered their offseason game plan. It also caused them to reprioritize their UFA list.

Jack Hughes is going first overall to the NJ Devils. He is a franchise center which are hard to find in the NHL and there’s just no way after 3 years worth of hype and family ties between GM Ray Shero and Jack’s dad that they won’t draft him. That leaves the Finnish Force, Kaapo Kakko for the Rangers to select.

Kakko is an elite right winger that will become the face of the franchise almost immediately, he is that good. But he is just another winger on a team that is chock full of them. The Rangers should also not take these players and force them to play out of position because it usually doesn’t lead to success.

Let players develop at their preferred positions

Did you see Pittsburgh try and force Sidney Crosby to play wing? Or Washington make Alex Ovechkin play center? The answer is no. So the Rangers shouldn’t do that with players like Vitali Kravtsov who is a winger, or Brett Howden and Filip Chytil who are centers. Lias Andersson is the only forward prospect that is listed as both a center and a left wing, and he should make the permanent shift to a third or fourth line winger next year.

So the addition of Kakko now has the Rangers overflowing with young wingers like Kravtsov, Pavel Buchnevich, Lias Andersson and Brendan Lemieux. These five players are added to a mix that already includes, Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast, Jimmy Vesey, Vlad Namestnikov, Ryan Strome. That’s 10 wingers on a team where you can only dress 8. Something will have to give.

The Rangers need another top center

As it stands now, the Rangers are heading into the season with Mika Zibanejad as their only skilled veteran center. He is without a doubt their #1 but he will be under enormous pressure if his supporting pivots are Filip Chytil, Brett Howden or Boo Nieves. Sure, Strome and Namestnikov can play the middle but is that optimal?

Both Kakko and Kravtsov are right wingers. Pavel Buchnevich also seems more comfortable on the right side, which means only one of these players will have the benefit of playing with an experienced skilled center and the others will be learning the game with developing Filip Chytil.

This means that unless there is a major change at the draft, where Gorton gets center Jack Hughes he is going to have to look at signing or trading for a good center. The name he will focus on with John Davidson’s blessing is Matt Duchene.

The 28 year old center is coming off a strong season where he notched 31 goals and 70 points in 73 games, mostly for the lowly Ottawa Senators. What’s also of real note is his 10 points in 10 playoff games for the Blue Jackets. When the market opens, Duchene is going to get a hard look from the Rangers who would give the team an incredible 1-2 punch down the middle with Zibanejad.

Can you imagine what Kakko and Kravtsov could do with either of those two centers? This could also give the Rangers an incredible third line with Buchnevich and Chytil flying around with a LW like Andersson or Lemieux.

Of course, if the Rangers can move salary in trades like offloading Chris Kreider, Vlad Namestnikov or even Jimmy Vesey they could open up more cap space to bring in Artemi Panarin to play LW on the a line with Zibanejad and Kakko.

The bottom line is that if the plan is just to add Panarin and not address the 2nd line center void, NY will simply be too top heavy and easier to deploy your best 5 defensive players on them night in and night out.

This also has another domino effect of negative consequences. David Quinn will have to move players around to get by these tactics. That causes constant changes of line mates and difficulty in getting into a rhythm that is important in developing these young players. It will also put an enormous amount of pressure on a very young Filip Chytil in just his 2nd full season.

Free Agency is about Filling Needs

Unlike the draft where you go for the best player regardless of position, free agency is about filling needs. The need now is a center. If the Rangers fail to land Duchene when the market opens, they can also turn to Jeff Skinner who played center in Juniors and with the Hurricanes. He is a cheaper option but not the optimal one since he is better as a winger.

Another route to consider is a trade. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a cap bind and need to sign some big RFA’s that include Mitch Marner. It could make them open to trade William Nylander who was drafted as a center and played a little at that position for the Leafs. If Gorton can see Nylander slotting in at number two, a trade could make a ton of sense for both teams. The most unlikely option is trading for Evgeni Malkin, because the rumors seemed more like a scare tactic by Pittsburgh to motivate the veteran center.

Ultimately Panarin remains the top free agent this summer, but does he fill the Rangers most pressing need? The obvious answer is no, and for the betterment of the rebuild Gorton will have to figure out how to get another big gun in the middle.

To all readers, especially those who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice, Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

I’m back from a week long business trip and so it the latest Rangers roundup. There was a lot of info out there and it’s time to lay it out and assess it. Let’s go!

Malkin On the Move?

Not too long ago I mentioned that even though Evgeni Malkin was said to be an “untouchable” by a Penguins beat writer, that it may not be true. This past week Elliotte Friedman said as much.

Malkin has a no-move clause, yet the buzz is that he’s taking some time to decompress and think about a.) if he’d agree and b.) where he’d agree to go to. That would be a short list, maybe the Rangers and Florida? The bigger hurdle might be Mario Lemieux, with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reporting sources have told him Lemieux is against the idea. For the Penguins to consider this, the return must be good enough to keep them in contention now.

31 Thoughts

Malkin is 32, has an AAV of $9.5M until 2022 when he will be 35 years old. On the positive side, he is still one of the most dominant centers in hockey and scored 72 points in 68 games this season. The year prior he potted 42 goals and 98 points in 78 games. 

The Rangers only have 1 bonafide center heading into next season. Currently it looks like youngster, Filip Chytil would be forced into a #2 role. Gorton will need to figure this out since Kravtsov is a winger and Kakko is also.

While Malkin is not likely to happen, if the Rangers can’t address this issue past free agency, it could be an option.

Offer Sheets Option?

Once again, the topic of offer sheets this summer is coming up. The Rangers may delve into this area, but in truth these are so rare in the NHL. Still, there is quite a field of RFA’s available that make it worth it.

Mitch Marner is one, but he is a winger which the New York will have in abundance with Kravtsov and Kakko next season. So this brings me to Brayden Point of the Lightning.

Point is 23 years old, a little on the small side, but he notched 41 goals and 92 points in 79 games. Here’s the deal, the Rangers or any other team could make a big offer sheet and Tampa has enough cap space and wiggle room via trades or buyout to field a good team next season.

One last thought, Toronto is rumored to be looking to trade William Nylander who can play center as well as wing. If he indeed becomes available via trade, the Rangers should there before considering a player like Malkin.

Fox and the Russians are on the way

Adam Fox has vaulted from college into the Rangers top 4 via a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox will compete and land a job on New York’s blue-line next season and could actually wind up on the top pair. Widely considered one of the best defensive prospects in the world, he is expected to be almost as good as Cale Makar, who has already made a big impact with the Avalanche.

The Rangers then topped that great move with the official signings of Vitali Kravtsov and Igor Shesterkin. After a long and difficult season, next year is already looking to be so much better and Jeff Gorton is still not done finalizing this roster.

If the Rangers add a star forward like Artemi Panarin in free agency, there’s a chance they could catch lightning in a bottle and have a fun run in the playoffs too.

More Good News

And Dallas is one more win away from giving the Rangers another first round pick this summer.

Featured image: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The William Nylander watch is over and it ends with…

Nylander Re-signs

Told Nylander is staying. Done deal 6 yrs.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 1, 2018

6×6.9 Nylander

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 1, 2018

The Rangers were never serious contenders

From everything I could gather the Blueshirts were never really in the running to land William Nylander. It wasn’t due to a lack of interest but more due to not really having anything the Leafs needed to make this deal happen.

This was stated by Bob McKenzie weeks ago. On TSN he said, “New York Rangers have no cap issues. They’d love to have William Nylander, but they don’t have a fit either.”

Latest on the Rangers and Nylander Watch.

Nylander Nailbiter

Believe it or not, there are people out there that believe Nylander may sit the year out! Only about 1 hour left before the deadline expires.

I’m starting to think Nylander’s not signing.

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 1, 2018

Also, if you’re wondering what happens if Nylander doesn’t sign:

What happens if the #Leafs William Nylander doesn’t sign today and is ineligible to play this NHL season?

We’ve compiled the answers to frequent questions regarding RFA/UFA status, Arbitration, Trading & Signing Eligibility in the attached image: pic.twitter.com/yw2ZJoyB9O

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 1, 2018

Rangers vs. Habs

#NYR Coach Quinn gives his thoughts on preparing for road games, locker room expectations and more before tonight’s matchup in Montreal. pic.twitter.com/vGy0pqRtF5

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 1, 2018

Nylander Watch as many are calling it has dragged on, and on, and on…

Speculation from last week seemed to point to Nylander signing with the Leafs. Now here we are on the last day for both Toronto and Nylander to make a decision. If they can’t come to terms then Nylander sits is not eligible for the year and the Leafs who look like Cup favorites lose a major offensive piece.

Latest on Nylander Watch

Asked if he’d spoken to William Nylander at all during the season, Babcock said yes. Asked if he said “Come back please!”, Babcock said: “No. We’re not begging anyone to be a Leaf. That’s not what we’re doing at all. It’s a privilege to be here – for me and for everybody else.”

— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) November 30, 2018

Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas and Head Coach, Mike Babcock all stand by their belief that Nylander will be in Toronto for a long time to come. Meanwhile, through 3rd parties like friend, David Pastrnak it sounds like Nylander is itching to play. Yet, as of yesterday Kyle Dubas was in contact with teams again asking for their best package.

#Flyers are believed to be among the teams Kyle Dubas has connected with in recent days as he makes the rounds for “last call” on William Nylander. Not sure there is a fit, or how involved they were prior to regime change, but Dubas and Holmgren did chat.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 30, 2018

Through all this the Rangers who are believed to not be contenders have remained very quiet. The deadline for what will happen with Nylander is at 5PM today.

What May Happen

TSN’s Bob McKenzie gave his final thoughts on the situation below. He ranks the 3 likely outcomes and being traded is a distant third on his list.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

@bobmckenzietsn believes the William Nylander situation will be going down to the wire

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Nov 30, 2018 at 3:40pm PST

Latest Rangers news around the web.

Nylander In Toronto

Looks like Nylander will be staying in Maple Leafs’ Blue. The latest news out of Toronto is that both sides are nearing an agreement on a deal. What isn’t known for sure is if it will be a bridge deal or a longterm contract for the talented young forward.

Over the last several days we’ve been given hints and clues from everyone like Leafs coach, Mike Babcock to a random fan in Columbus. However, it’s tweets like these that have to make you think Nylander is done sitting and wants to play.

David Pastrnak on close friend William Nylander: “It’s definitely hard for him to not play now.”

Adds that he doesn’t regret signing his $6.67M, six-year deal before missing time last season: “I *could be playing in Czech, right? For a couple hundred bucks per month.”

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 26, 2018

Trading Hayes

One of the most talked about players heading into the off season was Kevin Hayes. Then he signed a one year “show me” deal and became one of the Rangers we will be talking about all season until we hit the trade deadline.

Yesterday, Larry Brooks wrote the following:

There are two legitimate reasons for the Rangers to trade Hayes and neither has anything to do with rebuilding. One is if Gorton does not believe the pending free-agent center is worth the contract it would take to keep him off the market and in New York. The other is if the GM could acquire either a goal-scoring winger or top-four defenseman under multiple years of contract control who would enhance the Rangers’ chance of contending over the next three or four years, max.

Kevin Hayes has been playing very well for the Rangers as of late. I also concur with Brooks that trading him would have nothing to do with the rebuild at this point. That is because if you can’t come to terms with Hayes before the deadline, then he needs to go.

The real dilemma comes if Gorton gets too close to the deadline to make this deal without a resolution with the contract. Hayes is slated to become a UFA, which makes him a rental. That means the longer you wait then any hopes of landing said pieces above are good as gone too.

Latest on the Rangers and news from around the web.

Nylander Off the Market?

There seems to be rumblings that Nylander is about to agree to terms with Toronto. It started yesterday and is continuing on into the afternoon. First from former NHLer, Marc Savard.

Then Mike Babcock had this to say:

Mike Babcock on William Nylander negotiations: “I’m confident, hopeful. I mean Willy loves hockey. I know Willy good — he’s a great teammate and a good person — and he loves hockey. He wants to play hockey. So I’m betting on that. How’s that?”

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 23, 2018

And a fan in Columbus caught up with Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas who may have given him a scoop before the Leafs take on the Jackets.

BREAKING: Just spoke with @MapleLeafs GM Kyle Dubas and asked about where they stand on William Nylander. His response was “I’ll have an update by 5pm.” Something tells me a resolve in the Nylander situation is close. #Nylander #MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/Au0Zwyi7k8

— Ryan Lacey (@rlacey2571) November 23, 2018

Rangers Ready For the Flyers

Quinn said Lundqvist starts tomorrow in Philly. They hope Zuccarello can play, and Zuccarello said he felt pretty good after a full practice. If not, 7 D or call-up possible. #NYR

— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) November 22, 2018

DQ says @HLundqvist30 will play tomorrow. No announcement on who will play in goal Saturday. Lundqvist could do both, he said. McLeod is probably out, 4-6 weeks, similar to Buchnevich. No callup from @WolfPackAHL as of right now – the hope is @zuccarello36 will be able to play.

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) November 22, 2018