3 Scenarios Where the Rangers Should Consider Trading 5th-Overall Pick

At fifth overall, the New York Rangers will have a chance to draft a difference maker for the franchise that can potentially help retool the team back into contention.

Still, president and general manager Chris Drury needs to at least be open to trading the pick and doing due diligence in the market. While the Rangers in all likelihood will be staying pat and making the fifth overall selection, here are a few scenarios where trading it would make sense.

Trading Down

In this option, the Rangers see multiple players they are comfortable drafting early in the first round and want to take the risk of still getting someone they like just as much, either later in the top 10 or just outside of that range.

But if that’s the case, the Rangers shouldn’t just give away the top five pick just to add another second-round pick, especially if they are moving down at least a few spots. Considering there’s risk associated with a trade down, the organization, at the very least, should demand an unprotected first-rounder in 2027.

If not, Drury needs to get a young NHL player with significant upside.

Trading Up

Another option is including the fifth-overall pick in a package to trade up for one of the best players in the draft. While trade-ups in the top five are rare, perhaps the San Jose Sharks would be open to it after winning a top-two draft choice in the lottery for the third year in a row.

With the Northern California franchise desperately needing defensemen, could someone young on the Rangers interest them? The Blueshirts would probably be fine with parting with Braden Schneider, but would they do the same for Matthew Robertson, who had an impressive rookie season? A package around the latter player might intrigue the Sharks.

If the Rangers are going to trade their third-best defenseman on the roster, the trade up needs to be to take Ivar Stenberg, assuming Gavin McKenna goes first overall. If the scouting staff has the talents of Chase Reid, Caleb Malhotra, or even someone else rated higher than Stenberg, then the Rangers should stand pat and not shed assets.

Moving for a Young NHLer With Big Upside

And lastly, there’s an option that would be polarizing: Trading it straight up for a young player. No, that does not mean Brady Tkachuk, who will turn 27 by the start of next season.

Instead, it would have to be someone like Matvei Michkov, who had a rough sophomore campaign under head coach Rick Tocchet. Now it’s unclear if the Philadelphia Flyers would seriously consider trading the 2023 seventh-overall pick, but that shouldn’t stop Drury from making the call and exploring a potential deal.

If the Flyers have lost confidence in the 21-year-old, who was scratched multiple times in the playoffs, or they feel the relationship is fractured, then it would make sense to make a trade while the Russian winger’s value is still high. At fifth overall, the Flyers would have a chance at drafting a difference-maker.

Shane Wright, who was once the consensus first overall pick in the 2022 Draft, could be another option, although fifth overall might be too rich a price to pay. However, the Seattle Kraken do own the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft – so it’s something to consider in a potential package.

Some other young promising players Drury should inquire about include the Boston Bruins’ James Hagens and the Sharks’ Michael Misa. Both were top 10 picks in last year’s draft and are unlikely to move, but again, those are the types of players the Rangers should be targeting if they are seriously going to consider trading fifth overall.

Yes, the most likely option is that the Rangers stay put and announce the newest member of the farm system at fifth overall on Friday, June 26. Yet, it would be malpractice for Drury not to even consider choices other than making the pick.

A few scenarios would make sense depending on how the Rangers rate the draft prospects at their projected range. If the right young NHL player becomes available, the front office just might have to include the fifth-overall pick in a possible package.