At least one ball has fallen from the New York Rangers’ core with Jacob Trouba getting shipped to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round pick and Urho Vaakanainen.
Related: Rangers’ Cap Situation After Trouba Trade & Shesterkin Extension
Although it wasn’t all his fault, the captain was the Blueshirts’ biggest distraction and now the club can finally move on and hopefully focus on just playing hockey. The bounce-back win on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins was massive for a group that needed something to feel good about after a tough stretch. But behind the scenes, president and general manager Chris Drury can’t be done just yet with the makeover. There is unfinished business that needs to be taken care of if he wants his team to get back to being a Stanley Cup contender.
What the Rangers Can and Should Do
In fact, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported during Friday night’s broadcast that the Rangers aren’t done making changes. Some possible names she listed that could be available include Chris Kreider, Reilly Smith, Kaapo Kakko, and Ryan Lindgren. Of those, the two least likely to move are Kreider and Kakko, according to the sports reporter.
However, both Smith and Lindgren are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the season, and will be much easier to move. “It would surprise nobody if he was moved,” Kaplan said of Lindgren.
That seems about right. Drury doesn’t need to trade everybody on that list, but Lindgren should certainly be the next piece out the door, as he continues to negatively influence play-driving. In the last two seasons, the 26-year-old ranks dead last among Rangers defensemen who have appeared in at least 20 games in expected goals at 45.34 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick.
While Kakko will likely never live up to his 2019 second-overall pick draft hype, he’s been an important piece on one of the Rangers’ best lines this season. Trading him for a third-round pick or less creates a hole that the organization may not be able to replace. Kreider will be tougher to move, given his partial no-trade clause and due to him having another season left on his deal in addition to this one. Plus, replacing the 6-foot-3 winger and his net-front presence won’t be easy to do either. Also, Smith is starting to heat up, with two goals in his last two games. It might make sense to keep him if the Rangers continue stringing together wins and he ignites Kreider and Zibanejad on the right wing.
It’s also obvious the Rangers won’t be entering a rebuild after agreeing to terms with star goaltender Igor Shesterkin on a massive eight-year extension. That means the Rangers likely wouldn’t consider anything too drastic like moving other stars including Artemi Panarin, and Adam Fox. Plus, the organization probably will hold onto other younger players on the NHL roster including Victor Mancini, Zac Jones, and Brett Berard.
The Next Month or So Will Decide the Direction
That said, if the club falls far out of a playoff position by the time the trade deadline comes – everybody on the list including Kreider could be forced out.
These next two out of three games, which include the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues (both teams out of a playoff position), are critical. While they technically aren’t must-win, it almost feels that way after the latest debacle against the Seattle Kraken. The schedule will only get tougher towards the end of the month and early January. The Rangers will have to play the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Boston Bruins. The Panthers, of course, won the Stanley Cup last season, and the second-place Metropolitan Division Devils, who routed the Blueshirts 5-1 the last time the two played.
The play over the next month or so will give Drury a better idea of where his roster is and whether or not the Rangers should do a little selling and buying ahead of the March 7, 2025 trade deadline. But the group has been through quite the emotional rollercoaster in the past couple of weeks. It makes sense for the Rangers to lie low for a bit and not take as many calls on players so nothing leaks to the media so the group can focus on winning games. In fact, Drury admitted this after the Trouba trade.
“We certainly are not opposed to making more changes. But big picture, with that said, the team’s been through a lot the last couple weeks, and certainly this week,” he said, according to Vince Mercogliano of USA Today Network.
“We’d like to let the dust settle a little bit. Let some of the new players that we’ve acquired from Anaheim, Berard, Mancini, different pieces – obviously moving out the captain, as well – we’d just like to let the team get settled in with this little bit.”
That’s the correct answer, as it’s time to evaluate the performance of each individual in a crucial December, and let the team settle down. Then in a month – it’s back to business. The Rangers will need to replace Lindgren with a top-pairing defenseman – preferably somebody who can play with Fox on the top pair. What Drury does after that will be up for debate or at least isn’t 100 percent known yet.
