NEW YORK – The NHL’s trade season began to heat up last week, with two noteworthy deals getting done well in advance of the Mar. 8 deadline.
The Calgary Flames kicked things off Jan. 31 by shipping Elias Lindholm − widely considered the top available center − to the Vancouver Canucks for a substantial package of a first-round pick and conditional fourth-rounder in the 2024 draft, along with forward Andrei Kuzmenko and defensemen prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo. Two days later, the Montreal Canadiens sent another center, Sean Monahan, to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2024 draft and a conditional third-rounder in 2027.
Those high price tags raised eyebrows around the league and sent a clear message that rentals won’t come cheap, particularly for teams in need of centers. The Rangers are certainly among them after losing Filip Chytil for the season due to lingering symptoms and a scary setback following a Nov. 2 concussion.
Keeping Chytil on long-term injured reserve will give team president Chris Drury over $5 million in salary cap space to work with. The expectation is that he’ll act aggressively to fill his primary needs − namely, a center to replace Chytil and a right winger who can fill the void on the top line next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad − but it’s looking like a seller’s market.
The current options for impact forwards are limited, with multiple league sources telling lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the few teams with appealing trade bait are holding firm on hard-to-stomach asking prices. Those general managers are understandably trying to take advantage of high demand in a shallow pool of choices, with inquiries about forwards who project as bottom-six contributors on playoff contenders being met with requests for first-round picks, top prospects or both.
The costs may soften in the coming weeks as more teams fall out of the race, but for the moment, it’s tough sledding for GMs hoping to fortify their rosters. It sounds like Drury is among those reluctant to pay filet mignon prices for a cheeseburger and fries.
That could lead to bargain shopping, as opposed to making a big splash, but something has to give one way or the other. With Thursday marking exactly one month to go until the deadline, here are five teams we’ve either heard to keep an eye on or would make sense as potential trade partners for the Rangers:
Anaheim Ducks
The next domino multiple sources are expecting to fall among the available centers is Anaheim’s Adam Henrique. He’s a quality two-way player, but the fact that the 34-year-old is considered the best remaining option who’s a sure bet to get dealt speaks volumes about the state of the market.
The Rangers think highly of his hockey IQ and have some interest, according to one source, but not at the expense of the first-round pick the Ducks are believed to be asking for. A second-rounder and/or B-level prospect (perhaps defenseman Zac Jones?) might be as far as they’d go for an aging player with 33 points (15 goals and 18 assists) through 49 games played and limited speed. Perhaps a compromise could be a conditional second-round pick that elevates to a first if they reach the Eastern Conference or Stanley Cup Finals, similar to what they did in the Andrew Copp deal a couple seasons ago.
It’s worth wondering how much the Blueshirts would pay if they could fill two holes with one deal, and it’s no secret that they liked what they got out of Frank Vatrano during his 22-game stint (plus another 20 in the playoffs) with the team in 2022. He’s still the most-effective RW to play alongside Kreider and Zibanejad since Pavel Buchnevich was traded in 2021, with that trio posting a 56.07% xGF in 186:34 time on ice together, according to Natural Stat Trick. And he’s only gotten better since then, with 22 goals through 50 games played during this all-star season.
Vatrano is under contract for 2024-25 at an average annual value…
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