The New York Rangers have traded their captain and the 2019 No. 2 pick in the past two weeks. Nothing has been able to stop their slide from being a contender for the Metro Division to a team with less than a 30 percent chance to make the playoffs, and general manager Chris Drury still has an appetite to keep changing his roster by clearing bodies and cap space.
Drury’s team, which faces the host Dallas Stars on Friday, hasn’t responded to any of the threats of change or the actual changes so far. Friday will be the Rangers’ first game without Kaapo Kakko, dealt to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. Friday is also the start of the eight-day NHL holiday roster freeze, so there’s nothing doing for the Rangers at least through the holiday.
But unless things can turn around, this team is headed back into the draft lottery — a place the Rangers thought they’d exited for a long while after Drury took over and the Rangers made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final in 2021 and ’22. That means Drury is going to keep looking for chances to move players out before the March 7 trade deadline and possibly into the offseason.
So who might be next?
Most likely to be moved
Jimmy Vesey: The 31-year-old depth forward missed the start of the season and has played just 17 of 31 games without the impact he had in a 13-goal season a year ago. Moving Vesey won’t impact the Rangers much, since he’s signed a pending unrestricted free agent and the return wouldn’t be more than a fourth or fifth-round pick. But that would open up a bottom-six spot for a younger player. A league source said Vesey has been shopped around pretty much since Drury’s trade text went out on Nov. 24.
Ryan Lindgren: Perhaps Drury will hold onto Lindgren and make a move closer to March 7 to maximize the return, but it certainly appears that the 26-year-old is nearing the end of his Rangers tenure. He’s been a heart-and-soul player during his five-year Rangers run, but the broken jaw he suffered in a preseason fight plus the team’s ever-worsening defense have combined to make Lindgren a shadow of what he was as a Ranger. The Tampa Bay Lightning just lost young left-handed defenseman J.J. Moser for two months, so that could be a good landing spot for Lindgren.
Reilly Smith: The veteran forward was brought in to provide some maturity and skill in the top six, but like a lot of Rangers plans so far, it hasn’t gone that way. The Rangers gave up a 2027 second-rounder for Smith this summer; if they want something similar in return, they would likely have to take a pick in a similar, far-off draft. The 33-year-old Smith has 15 points in 30 games, so it hasn’t been all negative. He could still help a contender and the Rangers should be willing to retain some salary on the $3.75 million cap hit Smith carries.
William Borgen: He just got here, I know. But the 28-year-old right-handed defenseman would have been a deadline trade chip for Seattle had he stayed there; unless Borgen, who’s a pending UFA on a $2.7 million cap hit, helps turn the Rangers around, he could easily be flipped in the coming months for a second-rounder. Contending teams love to load up on defensemen and the 4 Nations tournament break in February will give general managers lots of time to consider their options.
Less likely, but still possible
K’Andre Miller: If the Rangers are in full-sell mode and want to particularly reimagine their defense corps, Miller will surely be on the block and of interest. He’s a pending restricted free agent looking for a big raise off the $3.872 million cap hit he has, but his play this season, with just six points in 28 games (and currently on injured reserve) doesn’t scream $50 million deal. If he puts it all together the way he started to two seasons ago, there’ll be some major regrets in the Rangers front office, but Drury may believe he can find a similar, top-four defenseman who’s more consistent.
Filip Chytil: “Might be our favorite guy on their roster,” one Western Conference executive told me last week, “but too many concerns.” Chytil’s concussion history could certainly scare off any potential suitors, but he’s going to be stuck as the No. 3 center/No. 2 power-play member indefinitely here and would have more value elsewhere. He’s locked in for two more years at a very reasonable $4.437 million cap hit. If a team wants to take a chance, the return may not be so hot, and that could keep Drury from making such a move.
Zac Jones: The 24-year-old left-handed defenseman is just getting his first real shot at consistent playing time, and it’s not going that well. He’s a pending RFA making less than a million so there’s not a lot of incentive to move him, even if he may not figure in the team’s future plans.
Chris Kreider: Yes, he’s No. 1 on The Athletic’s big trade board, but unless Drury is adamant about moving on from the closest thing the Rangers have to a lifer — which would mean essentially dumping Kreider for little return, since there’s probably not a robust market for a 33-year-old who’s got two years at $6.5 million left — then I think Kreider stays. Friends say it means something to Kreider to retire a Ranger, even if he’s part of the core that the GM wants to radically change. If things continue to deteriorate this season Kreider’s spot on this board may change, but for now, he definitely wants to be here forever.
Even less likely, but you never know
Mika Zibanejad: The odds against a Zibanejad trade are massive, almost as massive as the five years left on his contract. But his minutes are dwindling and his season is a mess; Drury would likely be eager to find a trade partner if Zibanejad were willing to waive his no-move clause. There’s been no indication that’s a possibility. If it comes to that — if Zibanejad, one of the more thoughtful players around, sees the writing on the wall and decides he’d rather be somewhere else, it’s still an incredibly difficult fit for any other team.
Going nowhere
Basically everyone else on the regular roster is a lock. Jonathan Quick could conceivably ask to be moved for a shot at a fourth Stanley Cup, but he’s pretty settled in his home area. Igor Shesterkin had a chance to test the waters but locked in for eight more years. Alexis Lafrenière is similarly locked in. Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck are important pieces. Will Cuylle, Brett Berard and Adam Edström are part of the future up front. Same goes for Adam Fox, Braden Schneider and Victor Mancini.
Things will be quiet until the roster freeze lifts on Dec. 27. After that, unless this Rangers team somehow turns things around, the chaos is likely to resume.
(Photo of Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller and Filip Chytil: Elsa / Getty Images)
