5 Win-Win Trades for the New York Rangers and Other NHL Teams

The New York Rangers are going to be one of the most active teams at the NHL deadline. They are aiming to win this season, they have multiple holes in the lineup, and General Manager Chris Drury has a healthy amount of cap space with which to work.

The biggest need is a top-six right-wing. Kaapo Kakko is developing into one of the best two-way wingers in the league, but the scoring hasn't caught up. The rest of the group — Barclay Goodrow, Vitali Kravtsov, Jimmy Vesey, and Julien Gauthier, are just not up to snuff for a top-line role.

Though the Rangers don't need that kind of impact on defense, their third pairing is going to be a major problem against the top teams in the playoffs. There is an addition to be made that fixes the hole without breaking the bank.

Finally, the team needs a depth center who can at least provide defensive minutes for 8-10 minutes per night. Currently, they don't have a decent option.

Here are five proposals for available players who are logical trading deadline targets for the New York Rangers.

A 26-year-old restricted free agent like Timo Meier is the dream acquisition for the Rangers, who are contenders now and hope to remain one long-term.

The biggest issue is the organization's long-term salary cap situation. K'Andre Miller, Filip Chytil, and Alexis Lafrenière all need new contracts over the summer, and the former two have earned massive raises. Meier will be due a $10M qualifying offer in the summer. Perhaps Meier would agree to take less money for the sake of earning a long-term contract on a competitive team. If the Blueshirts' accounting experts and Drury think there is a path to re-signing Meier long-term, then he has to be the top priority.

Two recent trades stand out as comparable. The Florida Panthers traded winger Sam Reinhart, a soon-to-be 26-year-old who was coming off of a 25-goal, 54-game season. Reinhart was an RFA with one year until unrestricted free agency. He earned Buffalo a 2022 first-round pick and goaltending prospect Devon Levi.

Last summer, The Minnesota Wild, strapped for cash, traded RFA wing Kevin Fiala to Los Angeles in return to for a first-round pick and defense prospect Brock Faber.

The baseline is, therefore, a first-round pick and B-level prospect. However, Meier will net San Jose more value. For one, Meier is a better player than both. Meier has 124 points in 128 games over the past couple of seasons. He drives possession for his team and defends well. Conservatively, Meier is a top-15 wing in the league. The Rangers would also be acquiring him for an extra season.

As that pertains to the Rangers, that best prospect match is left defenseman Zac Jones. The 22-year-old has impressed in the American Hockey League. The power-play quarterback sports six goals and 12 assists in 27 AHL games so far. His success has not quite translated at the NHL level yet. Jones has produced just eight points in 38 games over three seasons and he's looked overwhelmed on the defensive side of the puck. He could still make a career in New York, but the Rangers would probably agree to part with him while he still has value. Jones would get offensive opportunities in San Jose.

The Rangers drafted Vitali Kravtsov ninth overall in 2018 and he broke out in the KHL the next season. The rest of his career has been turbulent, to say the least. He's bounced between the NHL, AHL, and KHL with a lot of tough love coming from the Rangers' side and consternation from Kravtsov's. The Russian wing has bounced in and out of the lineup this year and comes out of the All-Star break with six points in 27 games. A change of scenery seems inevitable.

Finally, the Rangers don't have their second-round pick in 2023, so Drury adds a 2024 second-round pick with a condition attached that it becomes a 2024 first-round pick if the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Final in either 2023 or 2024.

Trade Proposal: San Jose trades Timo Meier (50% cap hit retained) in return for defenseman Zac Jones, right wing Vitali Kravtsov, NYR's 2023 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 second-round pick.

Patrick Kane's Blackhawks career is approaching its end. The team is in an unapologetic rebuild. The American winger turns 35 in November and will be an unrestricted free agent in July. Unless Kane wishes to endure a lot of losing, he'll probably play in another city next season.

The Rangers are an obvious contender for acquiring Kane. The three-time Cup winner presumably wants to play for a competitive team and he has a relationship with former linemate Artemi Panarin.

Kane's value could not have fallen much more than it has. An eventual hot commodity at the deadline, he has struggled immensely this season. The two-time 100-point producer has scored just nine goals along with 25 assists through 45 games. Furthermore, Kane's ability to tilt the ice in his team's direction has greatly diminished. And with no defensive game to speak of, the Buffalo native looks more like an offensive zone opportunist at this point in his career.

Chicago's lineup offering him zero help has to be considered when contextualizing his (lack of) production. So too does a lower-body injury that has limited him, though that provokes concern regarding his ability to contribute during an arduous playoff run.

Despite all of that, General Manager Kyle Davidson's biggest problem will be Kane's full no-trade clause. He'll be able to pick his destination. Kane could limit Davidson's trade options to only a few teams. Or, possibly, only the Rangers.

The definitive comparable trade here is Buffalo's exchanging of Taylor Hall to the Boston Bruins at the trading deadline in 2021. Hall had signed for one season in Buffalo and his scoring similarly dropped on a terrible team. At the deadline, Hall stood by his no-trade clause in order to effectively force a trade to Boston specifically. The Sabres got a pittance for the former Hart Trophy winner. The Bruins sent away a second-round pick and young depth forward Anders Bjork.

But unlike Kane, Hall was 29 years old and healthy at the time of the move.

Kane's value should be about the same. The Rangers can move their 2024 second-round pick and add depth forward Sammy Blais.

Trade Proposal: The Chicago Blackhawks trade Patrick Kane (cap hit 50% retained) in return for left wing Sammy Blais and a 2024 second-round pick.

Kane and the Rangers have been consistently linked, but if the team wants to add the best rental on the market then the choice is Vladimir Tarasenko.

A three-time All Star, Tarasenko had a comeback season in 2020-21 following multiple seasons ruined by a shoulder injury. Though his pace hasn't matched last season's 34-goal, 82-point triumph, the Russian wing is still producing at a 60-point pace over an 82-game season.

The Rangers infamously passed over Tarasenko at the 2010 draft, and this could be a chance to earn a morsel of redemption. His sniping ability would complement Panarin's playmaking expertise. His having won a Stanley Cup in 2019 doesn't hurt. Like Kane, Tarasenko has a full no-trade clause. He has previously requested a trade, so he may be more open with destinations he'd accept. That will still limit his market to some extent.

One comparable trade from the past involves the Rangers. In 2018, Rick Nash was not the superstar of his prime years but still had plenty to offer as a top-six winger. The Rangers received a first-round pick plus prospect Ryan Lindgren and a seventh-round pick. While Lindgren has become a phenomenal NHL defenseman, at the time he was a B-level prospect.

Tarasenko should not return exactly the same value. Nash only had a 12-team no trade clause and he was a staunch defensive winger at the time. The Rangers also took on a number of undesirable contracts from Boston.

Vitali Kravtsov feels like a natural inclusion in this trade. Tarasenko's departure creates an opening on the wing in a scoring role. Buchnevich took Kravtsov under his wing in New York and he could help him rediscover his talent in St. Louis.

St. Louis will be looking for a first-round pick, and the Rangers have two. I'd speculate that Drury would draw a hard line. Let's try a compromise. New York sends the Blues a 2024 second-round pick that turns into a 2023 NYR first-round pick if the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Final.

Trade Proposal: The Blues trade Vladimir Tarasenko (50% of cap hit retained) in return for right wing Vitali Kravtsov, conditional 2024 second-round pick.

Pound-for-pound, the Rangers' biggest need is a left defenseman. To keep it short, veteran Ben Harpur and former top prospect Libor Hájek are not NHL-caliber. Head Coach Gerard Gallant desperately needs a veteran shutdown defenseman to plug next to 21-year-old Braden Schneider on the third pairing.

The top player available is Vladislav Gavrikov. When on his game, the Columbus blue liner is a second-pairing defenseman. He has struggled this season, though that could be in part because he's logging nearly 22 minutes on a terrible Blue Jackets team. The bigger concern is the cost of acquisition. A 6'3", physical defenseman who plays shutdown minutes is both important to have and also the most overvalued commodity at the trading deadline; ask Panthers fans how the Ben Chiarot rental worked out last season. The Blue Jackets reportedly want a first-round pick plus more for Gavrikov. Forget it.

There are better values to be had. Among them are Olli Määttä (Detroit Wings), Nick Holden (Ottawa Senators), and Nick Seeler (Philadelphia Flyers). Any of the three would be a massive upgrade at a similar, modest cost.

Let's focus on Määttä who in my opinion is the best fit of the three. He's battled injuries for much of his career, but the Finnish defenseman is one of the better shutdown defensemen in the league. He's 6'2", 207 pounds, a strong penalty killer, and he doesn't take penalties. Määttä won't provide much offense, but he can make a good first pass out of the zone.

He has also played in 85 career playoff games and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. If he stays healthy, he's a perfect match for Schneider on the third pairing.

There are too many comparable trades to mention, as rental depth defensemen are probably the most common type of player moved at the deadline. The Rangers acquired Justin Braun from Philadelphia for a third-round pick last season. Ian Cole moved from Columbus to Tampa Bay for the same price.

Trade Proposal: Detroit Red Wings trade Olli Määttä in return for a 2023 third-round pick.

Save for Barclay Goodrow's spot appearances, the Rangers have not found a capable fourth-line center. Ryan Carpenter signed over the summer and looked like a great solution. His play did not reflect that before an AHL demotion.

This could be a simple patch as there are plenty of depth centers available. The Capitals want to move Lars Eller. Nick Bonino out of San Jose will be a fantastic addition for whichever team acquires him. There are also Pius Suter and Mark Jankowski.

Given that the Rangers will move bigger assets for other additions, let's keep this one simple.

Patrick Brown, a center for the Philadelphia Flyers, has little offensive game to speak of; one goal and four points in 32 games this season. He does play a good defensive game and wins faceoffs. He won't sell jerseys, but he can give the coaching staff one more decent option on the fourth line for what they hope will be a long playoff grind.

Trade Proposal: Flyers trade Patrick Brown for a 2023 sixth-round pick.