Staple A Way-too-early Trade List: 10 Forwards Who Could Help the New York Rangers

[RichieNextel305]

I really, really liked the way Tarasenko fit in here last year. We knew he could score, and though you knew he wasn’t a slouch defensively, I was impressed at how well rounded his game was after watching him play every game. His shot and his ability to raise his play in the playoffs makes him the most attractive option IMO. Add in his familiarity playing with Zibanejad and Kreider (who I assume he would be playing with) and he is the guy I would be targeting in an ideal world. Obviously, with the cap, I’m not sure how it would all add up. Same goes for a majority of that list. But if we stay at a high level, I’m sure Drury will be looking for upgrades however he can.

Edited December 7, 2023 by RichieNextel305

[phillyb]

Are they trading a 1st at the deadline?

[MuddyInTheMiddle]

24 minutes ago, phillyb said:

Are they trading a 1st at the deadline?

I think you have to if you are looking at Eberle or Tarasenko, probably Vatrano too. I don't buy the whole "window will close in 25-26 so we will have to rebuild then" narrative.  

 

Right now the pipeline is basically empty once Othman graduates and we will need to start restocking(especially on defense), so I genuinely hope that we don't part with our first this year. Would love to see Othman in NY come playoff time if he is ready as a potential RW solution.

 

Then again this is NY, and Drury works for Jim Dolan so expect him to push all of his chips into the center of the table.  

[Cash or Czech]

13 hours ago, The Dude said:

Functionality. Versatility.  Grit. Attitude.  Versatility.  Versatility,  Versatility.  

 

The Rangers need RW and center depth. They need motor. They need reliable.  They need a player that can actually slide up and down the lineup. They need a guy that ups his game in the playoffs .

 

I don't really think they necessarily need goal scorers. They need pieces that fit. They need interchangeable parts.

 

Pretty sure you've used all of these to describe Blake Wheeler and look how that's turned out.

[Pete]

29 minutes ago, MuddyInTheMiddle said:

Right now the pipeline is basically empty once Othman graduates and we will need to start restocking(especially on defense), so I genuinely hope that we don't part with our first this year. Would love to see Othman in NY come playoff time if he is ready as a potential RW solution.

Is this really true though? Perrault and McConnell-Barker are top end prospects right now, especially Perrault.

 

They're also probably looking at stocking first rounders when they start moving guys like Panarin and Krieder in the last year's of their deals, possibly even Trouba, depending on how bad the team is.

[MuddyInTheMiddle]

12 minutes ago, Pete said:

Is this really true though? Perrault and McConnell-Barker are top end prospects right now, especially Perrault.

 

They're also probably looking at stocking first rounders when they start moving guys like Panarin and Krieder in the last year's of their deals, possibly even Trouba, depending on how bad the team is.

Didn't mean to make it sound like the system was barren, but in the context of sure fire NHL players, I think Othman is the only one that you can say that about.

 

Sure Perrault and McConnell-Barker as well as Berard, Sykora, Chmelar, and maybe even Edstrom & Robertson are tracking that way, but I would stop short of calling them surefire NHLers either until they have a larger sample size of work or actually becomes NHLers.

[jsm7302]

1 hour ago, phillyb said:

Are they trading a 1st at the deadline?

All in. Best team we've iced in ages. Gotta go all in. Not overcompensate like last year. Blake Wheeler has to be gone by then because he will be smoked come playoff time. 

 

They gotta give whatever is asked to make the team bulletproof. Tarasenko and Duclair are both options I would jump at.

[Pete]

23 minutes ago, MuddyInTheMiddle said:

Didn't mean to make it sound like the system was barren, but in the context of sure fire NHL players, I think Othman is the only one that you can say that about.

 

Sure Perrault and McConnell-Barker as well as Berard, Sykora, Chmelar, and maybe even Edstrom & Robertson are tracking that way, but I would stop short of calling them surefire NHLers either until they have a larger sample size of work or actually becomes NHLers.

I would call Perrault a sure fire NHLer, but I hear what you're saying. 

[Keirik]

17 hours ago, Drew a Penalty said:

Pinto didn't sign a deal before the Dec 1 deadline so he's ineligible for play this season anyway.

Not sure if this has been said, but I dont believe thats true for Pinto specifically because he's not a group 2 RFA and cant sign an offer sheet

 

 

[Keirik]

id Detroit slips up, id take a look at Daniel Sprong too. Or if we want a bit of more grit, Kiefer Sherwood. Both are RW and UFA at the end of the year. May be Nick Foligno but I'm not sure if he has ever specifically played RW 

[Br4d]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Is this really true though? Perrault and McConnell-Barker are top end prospects right now, especially Perrault.

 

They're also probably looking at stocking first rounders when they start moving guys like Panarin and Krieder in the last year's of their deals, possibly even Trouba, depending on how bad the team is.

 

The Rangers aren't going to let the team devolve into a rebuilding mess again.  They didn't like the process the last time to the point they felt they had to send a letter to the STH explaining a process that every franchise goes through eventually.

 

I was thinking about this the other night and I think the only times in Rangers history where the team just collapsed were at the end of Emil Francis and Neil Smith's tenures.  Both guys had been in control of the talent for a decade plus and had geared very heavily towards a particular window to win a cup.  Both of them made a bunch of vet moves and over time the talent base eroded.  You could argue that the end of the Sather era produced a similar result but really the Rangers were much better better during and coming out of that window.

 

I'm defining collapse as the team sucked for 3+ years.

 

Drury hasn't had control for long enough at this point to qualify in that category.  He has no room to have a really bad season, let alone 3 in a row.  He'd get fired early in the process so no incentive for him to trash the team to try to make it better.

 

What I think the Rangers are more likely to do is to start flipping vets for younger players, not draft picks, as soon as they see a reason too.  Chris Kreider is going to be a very valuable trade chip after this season if he continues the way he is.  Mika Zibanejad is also extremely valuable.  I would not be surprised to see a package deal that sends them both out of town if the Rangers can't finish off the run this year.  The package to help get around the NMC's.  The goal would not be draft picks.  It would be getting a young star back.

[Dem]

Tank or Domi 

[Kick save and a beauty]

Institutional memory. Vatrano performed very very well for us in the playoffs as a TD acquisition.  I am not sure if he could be made available but I would love a do over.

[RichieNextel305]

If the Rangers stay on course, I have no problem sacrificing a 1st for the right player at the deadline. This is a year to do it. The cupboard isn’t bare, Othmann is waiting in the wings, Perrault looks to be a player, we do have young talent. If a 1st would get someone like Tarasenko for 50%, I would certainly be open to it. 

[The Dude]

I wonder if they were banking on a demand for a guy like Zac Jones going into the season.  Hoping someone would offer a 1st or a 2nd rounder in trade to stock pile picks to trade. Kinda like how they dealt Lundkvist for a 1st. Just to flip it at the deadline.  

 

I leaning towards thinking they should not be dealing a 1st for another rental. It's like every year they are trading 1sts for a RW. 

 

I mean are we really going to trade 2 first round picks for a total of 3/4 a season worth of 32 year old Tarasenko?  It's getting out of hand. But god damn do they need a RW. 

[RangersIn7]

1 hour ago, The Dude said:

I wonder if they were banking on a demand for a guy like Zac Jones going into the season.  Hoping someone would offer a 1st or a 2nd rounder in trade to stock pile picks to trade. Kinda like how they dealt Lundkvist for a 1st. Just to flip it at the deadline.  

 

I leaning towards thinking they should not be dealing a 1st for another rental. It's like every year they are trading 1sts for a RW. 

 

I mean are we really going to trade 2 first round picks for a total of 3/4 a season worth of 32 year old Tarasenko?  It's getting out of hand. But god damn do they need a RW. 

Yeah. It’s shitty.

But they did that to themselves when they moved on from Fast and dealt Butch. 
 

 

[RichieNextel305]

I don’t think the Rangers ever expected to dangle Jones for a 1st like they did Lundkvist. Maybe a 2nd, more likely a 3rd. Or as part of a package.

[Pete]

Every time Jones plays his trade value drops. 

[RangersIn7]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Every time Jones plays his trade value drops. 

I don’t know about all of that, but he’s still not shown himself to be any better than a marginal NHL’er.

Hes shown himself to be a bit better and more reliable, but not hugely and he has no real trade value beyond a mid-round pick. 
 

If he got an opportunity to just play somewhere, maybe he becomes more viable. 
I don’t dread it if they have to play him in spots.

But he still needs sheltering and minimal exposure.

 

I do see a skill set there that might manifest into a useful player in some small role though.

If he could get into a lineup for an extended stretch that is 

 

 

[Pete]

22 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

I don’t know about all of that, but he’s still not shown himself to be any better than a marginal NHL’er.

Hes shown himself to be a bit better and more reliable, but not hugely and he has no real trade value beyond a mid-round pick. 
 

If he got an opportunity to just play somewhere, maybe he becomes more viable. 
I don’t dread it if they have to play him in spots.

But he still needs sheltering and minimal exposure.

 

I do see a skill set there that might manifest into a useful player in some small role though.

If he could get into a lineup for an extended stretch that is 

 

 

Which drops his trade value.

[RangersIn7]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

Which drops his trade value.

That’s essentially immaterial.

There isn’t enough there to worry about losing any of it.

 

Its a penny slot. 

[Gravesy]

12 hours ago, RichieNextel305 said:

If the Rangers stay on course, I have no problem sacrificing a 1st for the right player at the deadline. This is a year to do it. The cupboard isn’t bare, Othmann is waiting in the wings, Perrault looks to be a player, we do have young talent. If a 1st would get someone like Tarasenko for 50%, I would certainly be open to it. 

This 100% the correct take. 
In historical terms I would’ve liked the Rangers to have a more balanced approach, take the future into consideration and not always be buyers with often marginal teams.

But with one of the best rosters in the league, performing like an elite unit, great coaching and goaltending you’re all in. All fucking in. These opportunities don’t come around too often. That’s even without considering we’re talking about an organization that hasn’t won in 30 years. If they find an addition that helps the team, handing over a 1st that’ll be in the late 20’s or worse is absolutely the correct thing to do.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Gravesy said:

This 100% the correct take. 
In historical terms I would’ve liked the Rangers to have a more balanced approach, take the future into consideration and not always be buyers with often marginal teams.

But with one of the best rosters in the league, performing like an elite unit, great coaching and goaltending you’re all in. All fucking in. These opportunities don’t come around too often. That’s even without considering we’re talking about an organization that hasn’t won in 30 years. If they find an addition that helps the team, handing over a 1st that’ll be in the late 20’s or worse is absolutely the correct thing to do.

At some point I would like to see them split up Panarin and Lafreniere for a few games. It's important for them to understand if Lafreniere can perform without Panarin, and to what degree.

 

If he can drive play and is not just being supported by a Hart candidate, then that kind of changes the conversation. If he winds up being somebody you can build your team around as a 25-year-old premier forward, there's a different dynamic. Then at least you have something of a foundation to rebuild from, with him and Fox, Shesty. Obviously you have to see what you have in KK when he comes back too.

 

This is why I keep saying that taking a swing and a miss at 2 picks that high can set your organization back years. It would make a rebuild that much harder, instead of being guys you build around they're probably part of the fire sale. 

[Br4d]

We're not going to know much more about 25-year old Lafreniere than we do now for a year or two.

 

Also, counting your ducks 3 years up is very risky.  It's why the Rangers have the problems at RW that they have right now.  You can generally look at 3 years up the road.  You do that by preserving your high picks and hoping the ones you already made work out.  That doesn't help with positionality or balance or any of that stuff because you never know who is going to make it and who is going to wash out.

 

I hope that Laffy turns into a driver but I can see circumstances where he's just a passenger, back seat even in the grim scenarios.

 

He's been snakebitten this year in terms of a lot that he has done.  He could easily have 10 goals and 10 assists right now but he's at 8 and 8 playing opposite Panarin.  You'd like to think that kind of luck balances out in the end but it's a 50/50 thing then just like it is now.

[Pete]

13 minutes ago, Br4d said:

We're not going to know much more about 25-year old Lafreniere than we do now for a year or two.

 

Also, counting your ducks 3 years up is very risky.  It's why the Rangers have the problems at RW that they have right now.  You can generally look at 3 years up the road.  You do that by preserving your high picks and hoping the ones you already made work out.  That doesn't help with positionality or balance or any of that stuff because you never know who is going to make it and who is going to wash out.

 

I hope that Laffy turns into a driver but I can see circumstances where he's just a passenger, back seat even in the grim scenarios.

 

He's been snakebitten this year in terms of a lot that he has done.  He could easily have 10 goals and 10 assists right now but he's at 8 and 8 playing opposite Panarin.  You'd like to think that kind of luck balances out in the end but it's a 50/50 thing then just like it is now.

I don't really understand where you're going with this.

 

Of course you're not going to know what he is at 25 until he's 25, but you can start today by splitting those two players up and seeing what he can do when he's not with a Hart candidate. 

 

If you think teams don't try to project 3 years up the line, I don't know what to tell you, they do. Sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they don't, but they're always forecasting. 

 

I agree with the bolded, and I think teams with good management stay flexible and look at the player they drafted and constantly evaluate, he might not be the guy you drafted him to be, but that doesn't make him worthless. That's why all the talk around moving KK is pretty ridiculous. He's still a valuable third line winger who's likely to be cost controlled. Is that what you want from a number two? Of course not, but that doesn't mean you throw the baby out with the bath water. He's developed an identity and we know what he's good at, spectacular defensively and able to contribute offensively (his latest 20 games notwithstanding).

 

The point I'm making is, every company does a 3-year plan on a 5-year plan, but they also do an annual plan where they reevaluate the three-year plan on the 5-year plan. This is what the Rangers should be doing. 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Pete