The New York Rangers have won just six of their last 23 games and do not resemble the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season. With the March 7 trade deadline inching closer, general manager Chris Drury will have to decide if he should trade away star players and begin a rebuild or if he will only trade players on expiring contracts and enter next season with a win-now mentality.
Rangers Could Look to Begin a Rebuild
Though the Rangers made it to the Eastern Conference Final last season, many of their best players have played poorly this season and they do not look competitive right now. They are consistently getting outplayed and when they win games it is usually thanks to stellar goaltending. On Jan. 7 against the Dallas Stars, they blew a 3-0 lead and a late 4-3 lead after an egregious giveaway by K’Andre Miller led to the game-tying goal with 2:39 remaining. They lost 5-4 in overtime.
Related: The Fall of Mika Zibanejad: A Star’s Decline on Broadway
Mika Zibanejad is in the third season of an eight-season, $68 million deal which includes a full no-movement clause until 2029-30. This season he has eight goals, 17 assists, and is a team-worst minus-19 in 40 games. He had 91 points in 2022-23, 72 points last season, but is on pace for just 51 points this season. Worse than the decrease in production, his giveaways and poor decisions have made him one of the Rangers’ worst players defensively. His defensive struggles are especially concerning given that he is usually one of their best defensive forwards.
The Rangers cannot trade Zibanejad unless he waives his no-movement clause and they need him to play much better at both ends of the ice. His poor play is one of the reasons they must consider rebuilding as it would be unlikely for them to be contenders with him playing the way he has this season.
If the Rangers do decide to rebuild, they have some key players they could look to trade for draft picks and prospects. Chris Kreider has had three consecutive 30-goal seasons and had 39 goals and 36 assists in 2023-24. This season he has missed time with a back injury and is currently on injured reserve. He is 33 years old and has 13 goals and two assists in 34 games. He is in the fifth season of a seven-season, $45.5 million contract.
Miller is just 24 years old but has struggled this season. Like Zibanejad, he has made far too many giveaways and defensive mistakes and he has just two goals and five assists in 34 games. In 2022-23 he had nine goals and 34 assists and last season he had eight goals and 22 assists. He is 6-foot-5 and a great skater but the Rangers may look to move him rather than sign him to a long-term extension given his struggles this season. He is set to become a restricted free agent after this season.
The Rangers could also consider trading their best forward, Artemi Panarin. He had 49 goals and 71 assists last season and has 16 goals and 27 assists in 38 games this season. He is in the sixth season of a seven-season, $81.5 million deal and he has continued to produce despite the struggles of his linemates Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck. He has a full no-trade clause but he could waive it if the team rebuilds as he is 33 and should draw plenty of interest from contenders.
Rangers Could Look to Contend Next Season
As poorly as this season is going, the Rangers were excellent last season and they have a lot of talented players who are capable of playing much better. Even if they are sellers at the trade deadline, they could look to hang on to their core players and just trade players on expiring contracts.
Star goalie Igor Shesterkin just signed an eight-season, $92 million contract extension that runs through the 2032-33 season. He is 29 years old so it may not make sense to rebuild while he is in his prime. He has won 23 of his 44 career playoff starts with a .928 save percentage (SV%,) and a 2.41 goals-against average (GAA). He has proven he can be a difference-maker in the postseason.
Some players on expiring contracts that the Rangers can look to move are Ryan Lindgren, Will Borgen, Reilly Smith, Jimmy Vesey, and Jonathan Quick. All are role players who could help playoff teams while helping the Blueshirts acquire draft picks or prospects.
If the Rangers hold onto players like Kreider, Miller, and Panarin they could look to sign a few role players in the offseason, and perhaps prospects Brennan Othmann, Drew Fortescue, and Gabriel Perreault could help the team. They still have a talented core but they need their top players to be much better to get back to contending.
For the Rangers Moving Forward
Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Rangers appear to be on their way to being sellers at the trade deadline. They need to decide whether or not the team should enter a full rebuild or only trade players on expiring contracts. Either way, they need to get good value in return and the pressure is on Drury to make that happen after a very disappointing first 40 games of the 2024-25 season.
