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New York Rangers right winger Vladimir Tarasenko. Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

NHL trade deadline primer: New York Rangers

Originally posted on Pro Hockey Rumors | By Ken MacMillan | Last updated 2/25/23

The trade deadline is inching closer and is now less than a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New York Rangers.

The New York Rangers went through a roster re-tool for four seasons before launching back into contender status last season.

A Vezina Trophy campaign from goaltender Igor Shesterkin, a near Norris Trophy winning season from Adam Fox and a career high in points from Artemi Panarin carried the team all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. They pulled ahead in that series 2-0 before losing four consecutive low-scoring close games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Rangers headed into this season with high expectations, and are among a pack of six Eastern Conference teams that appear to be the league’s best.

They will continue to fight with the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils for the Metropolitan Division crown down the stretch and whoever emerges from that battle in the first two playoff rounds will likely face either the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs or Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.

It is going to be a battle of wills to get to the Stanley Cup Final from the eastern side and the Rangers have already begun to load up. They acquired Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner and a 2024 fourth-round pick.

They also moved Vitali Kravtsov to the Vancouver Canucks for Will Lockwood and a seveth-round pick in 2026. Jake Leschyshyn was also put on waivers earlier Saturday. Both of these moves seem to be made to maximize the team’s cap space for an upcoming trade.

Record

33-17-9

Deadline status

Buyer

Deadline cap space

$1.67M, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming draft picks

2023: DAL 1st, NYR 2nd, COL 3rd, NYR 6th, WPG 6th

2024: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th

Trade chips

The Rangers 2023 first-round pick is tied up in a conditional trade for Tarasenko. The Blues will get the later of the Rangers pick or the Dallas Stars first-round pick that was acquired for Nils Lundkvist.

Either way, they still have a 2023 first-round pick and their own 2024 first-round pick as well as their second-round picks in 2023 and 2024.

Brennan Othmann was the Rangers first-round pick in 2021. He is having a great season in the Ontario Hockey League, where he has scored 24 goals and 55 points in 44 games for the Peterborough Petes.

He was solid at the past two World Junior Championships, scoring a combined 12 points in 13 games for Canada and winning a pair of gold medals. If the Rangers are going to add another big name, Othmann would allow them to add just about anyone on the market.

Will Cuylle is a 21-year-old left winger who is playing his first AHL season. He has scored 17 goals and 26 points in 48 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack after a tremendous Junior career.

He was taken in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft and with all the wingers likely to be with the Rangers long term, like Panarin, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers could afford to move Cuylle.

Matthew Robertson is a promising young defenseman who is going to have a hard time finding a full-time role with the Rangers. The 21-year-old has a nice mix of size and skill, but the Rangers already have a deep crop of blueliners.

At 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds, Robertson is tough enough to defend his own zone and has 20 points in 48 AHL games, showing a bit of an offensive side as well. Rebuilding teams love young NHL-ready defenders and Robertson fits that description.

Other potential trade chips: Zac Jones, Adam Sykora, Bryce McConnell-Barker

Team needs

Top-six winger: The Rangers have already added Tarasenko and he is playing on a line with Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. They also have a tremendous “kid line” as their third line with Filip Chytil between Lafreniere and Kakko. Vincent Trocheck is playing on a line with Chris Kreider and Jimmy Vesey. The odd-man out here would be Vesey who has 21 points in 58 games. The Rangers are heavily rumored to be in on Patrick Kane, and he would round out the team’s top six perfectly.
Left Defenseman: The Rangers have a big question mark hovering over them now as defenseman Ryan Lindgren was injured in Saturday’s game. If he is out long term, the team could place him on LTIR and add a player matching his cap hit of $3M. Even if he is not out long term, the team could add a depth piece on defense, as any contender likes to do at this time of year. They are certainly not lacking on the back end with Lindgren, Fox, Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller, Mikkola and Braden Schneider, but picking up a veteran who can fill in for injuries would be helpful.