Chris Drury, Rangers in position to be buyers at trade deadline
Rangers' Chris Drury works the bench during a game against the Flyers on March 17. Credit: AP/Bruce Bennett
The Rangers were sellers at the NHL trade deadline in 2018, 2019 and 2020, offloading talent in exchange for draft picks and prospects as they went all in on their rebuild.
In 2021, as the rebuild appeared to turn the corner, they stood pat.
Now, in 2022, with the rebuild clearly over and the playoffs seemingly a foregone conclusion for a team with a 31-13-5 record, first-year general manager Chris Drury is in a different position altogether. He can go shopping.
Drury, who took over as president and GM after John Davidson and Jeff Gorton were fired last May, is in a position of strength to acquire reinforcements to bolster his team’s roster before the March 21 trade deadline.
The Rangers have cap space into which they can fit difference-making players, and they have high-level prospects to offer in exchange. And with goalie Igor Shesterkin having a Vezina Trophy-worthy season and a power play that has been positively lethal, adding the right piece(s) could help the Rangers solidify their first playoff spot in five years and actually do damage when they get there.
It’s an exciting time for Rangers fans, and it should be for the players, too. After going four seasons without playoff hockey and suffering all those gut punches upon seeing beloved teammates shipped out every year, this time they can look forward to adding to their group instead of subtracting.
Chris Kreider, however, says the players aren’t spending any time thinking about that.
"Guys don’t sit around and ‘hot stove’ about what may or may not happen,’’ Kreider said at the NHL’s All-Star Weekend when asked about the possibility that the Rangers will be buyers rather than sellers. "At the end of the day, we’re just worried about the team that we have and the group that we have and building and continuing to improve with guys that we have in the room.
"It’s the nature of hockey. I’ve been around long enough to know that guys come in and guys go out . . . So I think it’ll be interesting. We did put yourselves in a pretty good spot. Obviously, [there are] decisions for Dru. Lucky for us, we just have to show up and try to continue to win hockey games. He’s got the hard job.’’
The hard job for Drury will be picking the right players to acquire. According to CapFriendly, the Rangers have nearly $6.4 million in cap space, meaning they could take on a player such as San Jose’s Tomas Hertl ($5.625 million) or former Ranger J.T. Miller ($5.25 million) of Vancouver or Vegas’ Reilly Smith ($5 million) without having to send any salary the other way.
Hertl, 28, and Smith, 30, are pending unrestricted free agents. Smith (14 goals and 19 assists in 48 games) would seem a perfect fit as a rental player to plug the hole at right wing on one of the top two lines. Hertl (22-18-40 in 48 games) seems a little more far-fetched. The Sharks want to re-sign him and it’s hard to imagine they won’t.
Miller, 28, leads Vancouver in scoring (18-32-50). He is under contract for this season and next, when the Rangers won’t have the kind of salary-cap space they have now.
The contract extensions signed by Mika Zibanejad ($8.5 million cap hit) and Adam Fox ($9.5 million) kick in next season, so if the Rangers acquire a player signed beyond this season, that could be a problem. Getting a player like Miller might mean keeping him as their second-line center going forward over Ryan Strome, who is a pending UFA.
Would they really do that after the way Strome and Artemi Panarin have clicked during the past three seasons?
Some fans want the Rangers to trade for Arizona defenseman Jacob Chychrun or Montreal’s Ben Chiarot, but the Blueshirts don’t seem to have a need on defense right now. Why would they give up assets to acquire a player they don’t need? Remember the cap situation, too, and consider that Chychrun is signed for three more seasons after this one.
Smith seems the most logical target. The 6-1, 183-pounder played for coach Gerard Gallant with the Golden Knights and Panthers and is a proven playoff performer. He had five goals and 17 assists in 20 games during Vegas’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 and has 22 goals and 65 points in 84 career playoff games, including 14-38-52 in 66 with Vegas.
Smith would look great on the right of Panarin and Strome, and that would allow Barclay Goodrow to drop down to the third line, which would strengthen that line. Once Kaapo Kakko returns from injured reserve, either he or Alexis Lafreniere will end up on the third line as well. Imagine a third line of Lafreniere on the left, Goodrow at center and Filip Chytil on the right? Or Goodrow on the left, Chytil at center and Kakko on the right?
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
