New York Rangers Still Want To Shake Things Up

The New York Rangers made headlines last week when it became known that general manager Chris Drury wanted to make changes and shake things up by trading Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider. It is no secret that the Rangers wanted to move on from Trouba. They wanted to do that since the summer. Kreider is a new one, and it really upset the room.

The Rangers are also dealing with a high-profile contract negotiation with their number one goalie, Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin wants to be the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. However, this contract negotiation has become a distraction. However, as Michael Del Zotto told Full Press Hockey, “How Can You Walk Away From a Guy Like That.” 

While things have quieted down for the moment, that does not mean the New York Rangers are not looking to make changes.

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It is the city that never sleeps, as Frank Sinatra sang about in New York, New York. The Bright Lights and the big city of Broadway. The New York Rangers are looking to make changes. Everyone is talking about the memo Drury sent out last week to teams about Trouba and Kreider. The only issue is that both players have 15 teams with no trade clauses. Drury knows the Rangers are a flawed team, but they are still right in the thick of things in the East and a Metro Division that got better.

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Players like Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and Ryan Lindgren could also be on the move, but as Russ Cohen of Sportsology.com and SiriusXM NHL Network Radio explains on the Full Press Hockey Podcast, it might not be the best idea to move the defenseman at this point.

Russ Cohen: “I think some guys could get traded I think (Kaapo) Kakko could get traded. I don’t think K’Andre Miller will be moved because their defense is not deep enough to move him. But I don’t know how much of a long-term deal they should give them. They might have to bridge him. They’ll keep (Ryan) Lindgren there for (Adam) Fox’s sake. They have to. I think they should sign him regardless. I get that he has an injury history, but he keeps playing. But they seem they might move on from him, and if they do, yeah, there he’s just gonna end up walking at the end of the year.”

Cohen believes other things could happen, including a coaching change. According to a source close to RG, Joel Quenneville could be in line for the Rangers head coaching position if they moved on from Peter Laviolette. From the sounds of it, Laviolette’s time in New York could be winding down. Something about year two and Peter Laviolette that continues to be a pattern.

On the Shesterkin Front:

As documented, Igor Shesterkin wants to be the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. The Rangers style of play in front of him and their reliance on him to win games only add to his case. 

As Cohen noted, Drury should focus on this deal and get him locked up before worrying about trades because that could affect other players’ progress.

“Yeah, I think they will come up with a deal. But I have to believe it is a distraction. And I think Chris Drury should look at getting that done before he worries about some of the other stuff because I’m sure if you’re a player and you’re thinking about extending, or you’re in your last year, next year, and you don’t know if Shesterkin’s coming back, you can’t be feeling too great about things right now. So I think they have to lock that up. I think they will. I think it’s just a matter of, is it an 11 and a half? Is it 12 and a half and then just the amount of years? They’ll give him eight unless he wants only five, like Auston Matthews because he thinks he can get another good deal. Shesterkin is valuable and is not going anywhere.”

The New York Rangers will be a fascinating team to watch over these next four days as there could be changes coming.

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