Banter Roundtable: What the Rangers Should Do Between Now and the Trade Deadline

No one could have predicted such a drastic fall from grace. From Presidents’ Trophy Winners, two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final to last in the Metro, with about an equal chance for a high lottery draft pick as they have for a playoff spot.

These are things we’re sick of hearing by now but are relevant to the conversation of where the New York Rangers go from here. With the official midway point of the season approaching, the Rangers are hovering around a .500 record. That’s never a recipe for success, but at the same time they’re only a handful of wins out of a wildcard position.

The million dollar question (or maybe a $21 million dollar question–their amount of projected deadline cap space) becomes, how do you approach the rest of the season from here? 

The Case For a Hard Sell

Watching this team over the past few months has been challenging. Their play has gone from bad to miserable in a very short period, before rebounding in the last couple of games against quality opponents in New Jersey and Vegas. On top of that, the drama that persists through the New Year has left a sour taste in many mouths. This core has had numerous kicks at the can with different supplemental players that Chris Drury has gone out of his way to add, and the fact is it’s never been enough. Even at his best, Mika Zibanejad is a borderline top center, and folks, Mika has been nowhere near his best nearly all year. The Rangers need a higher skill level at the top of their lineup, especially at center. With integral players such as Chris Kreider going on IR, the time to move on is now. Perhaps we’re even past that point. But the sooner Drury makes some tough decisions, the better.

Chris Drury should be working overtime to garner and measure interest in every single player on the roster. You read that right–every single player.

No one should be off limits. Yes, we need to be sensible about trading any individual player for a fair return, and some only for an exceptional return, but there shouldn’t be any reason any player on this roster who is totally safe. Even Igor Shesterkin should be considered before his contract extension and no-movement clause kicks in. I don’t want to feed the trolls, but there is something to be said about that amount of money being committed to a goaltender.

The post-letter rebuild failed. It sucks, but it's true, and we’re left with a core of players that have not been to even get to the last round of the playoffs, let alone hoist a Stanley Cup. The return that could come back the other way for a player of Aretemi Panarin’s caliber is monumental, and the Rangers owe it to themselves to consider that path. There is always a feeding frenzy at the trade deadline, with teams often overpaying for players. Drury must take advantage of that and recoup as many draft picks and young talented players as possible.

It'll be a hard couple of years, and no one likes to lose, but how different would it be from a season like this? Not very. The only difference would be that there is a tangible plan and hope on the horizon.  The other side is bringing back most of the same aging core; now that they are another year older, will they have a better year? It’s not impossible, but I promise you it won’t be enough to get us to the ultimate prize, and if that’s not what we’re trying to accomplish, what are we even doing here? 

The Case For A Conservative Sell

Just because the Rangers decide to sell off some assets at the trade deadline doesn’t necessarily mean that all is lost this season. While it might make the most sense to recoup as many assets as possible and to not worry about winning games in hopes of landing the better draft pick, why not go for it reasonably if it’s within reach? This team is one solid hot streak away from being right back in the wild card conversation. That being said, there’s no better time to pass the torch to the next core of this team than now and if more playoff experience comes as a result of that, it’s only going to help them moving forward.  

So what does reasonably going for it actually mean? Well, there’s a number of players the Rangers should look to move at the deadline, regardless of where they sit in the standings and that essentially includes all of their pending UFA’s.

The only one you can consider holding onto is Will Borgen but that’s dependent on a number of things I’ll get into shortly. This approach could be considered a conservative sale which would involve selling Ryan Lindgren, Reilly Smith, and Jimmy Vesey at or before the trade deadline in March. It’s reasonable to believe that regardless of how this season played out, none of these three would be back next year anyway. Not to mention, even if the Rangers squeeze back into the playoff picture, they’re not getting to the promised land on the shoulders of these players. Hell, Lindgren barely has any healthy shoulders left to begin with. 

Not only would this bring the Rangers some draft capital and/or prospects, but it would prove to be an addition by subtraction approach in that it would allow more opportunity for younger players. Trading Smith would allow more runway for guys like Will Cuylle, Brett Berard, and Arthur Kaliyev, perhaps even Brennan Othmann, or in my most exciting circumstances, Gabe Perreault. Trading Lindgren allows Zac Jones the opportunity for a full time roster spot (if that relationship can be salvaged) and if you throw Borgen in the yard sale, Braden Schneider bumps up to the second pair and we see Victor Mancini back.

Now to get into the Will Borgen conditions: if the Rangers are truly within reach of a playoff position by the deadline, they should only look to move him if it means securing an additional first round draft pick. Especially when you consider the returns for Lindgren, Smith, and Vesey which we’ll surely get into in a different story. 

The biggest argument you could make for a hard sell (which would include Borgen and likely Kreider, if not more) is it surely increases the chances that the Rangers won’t get back in the playoff picture and will undoubtedly secure the higher draft pick. While that logic is sound, the counterargument to that is the fact that even with a top ten draft selection, the Rangers have proven time and time again that it rarely works out in their favor. Recent history has proven it in Lias Andersson, Vitali Kravtsov, and Kaapo Kakko. Even before them, there was Dylan McIlrath, Al Montoya, and Pavel Brendl. There’s good players throughout the entire draft and even with a mid-late selection, the Rangers could still end up drafting a promising young player **immediately starts to manifest William Moore to the Rangers**. 

Through being conservative sellers at the deadline, maybe they land a wildcard spot, maybe they stay in the lottery mix, worst case, they fall just short of the playoffs and land a middle of the pack draft position. Bottom line is there’s no guaranteed path to success for them this season so they may as well settle for the best of both worlds. Remain as competitive as you can, only sell what is necessary and reassess the bigger decisions (Kreider, Zibanejad, Panarin) in the summer. 

Roundtable Quick Plans Explained  

Joe Fortunato’s Plan: 

Stay the course. Sell at the deadline. Prioritize quality, younger NHL players (the more cost controlled the better) for major moves, and restocking the draft cupboard for others. Borgen, Lindgren, Smith, and Vesey should be moved at the deadline. The only question is Borgen – and only if one of Schneider or Miller is moved before then. If teams aren't scared off of Kreider's back and get into a bidding war, do it at the deadline. If the returns are not acceptable, wait it out and see what happens. And, it goes without saying, if there's any move for Zibanejad in there you do it. This team, even if they claw to the playoffs, cannot be trusted to buy or even not sell.

Roberto Solis-Byxbee’s Plan: 

Shop Panarin. If a package and deal can be made pull the trigger. Everything else will fall into place behind that happening. Don't be afraid to move on from anyone. Collect as many high-level prospects and draft picks as you can. Call up the kids from Hartford and let's see how they do with more ice time. Target potential players at the draft and leverage the collected capital to trade for a difference maker as well as using our top pick on a potential franchise player.

Chris Feldman’s Plan:

Sell high on Lindgren, allowing Zac Jones a full-time role on the third pairing (Bump up Miller and Vaakanainen). Trade Smith and Vesey. Give Cuylle, Berard, and Kaliyev more chances in the top-six. Call-up Othmann once he’s fully ready. Sign Perreault if that’s an option once BC’s season ends. Only trade Borgen if it means a first round pick (conditional is fine). Everyone else stays unless the offer is truly otherworldly. Keep expectations low but compete levels high. If you get back in the playoff picture, great. If not, do a deep reassessment of the direction of the team and everyone under contract over the summer.

Tom Dianora's Plan:

Squeeze a few more minutes/special teams situations out of Reilly Smith where you can, so you can sell high on him. Similarly, dress Vesey much more frequently and play him on the penalty kill, so you can get more for him at the deadline as well. Also, trade Lindgren. Ditto for Will Borgen if you can get at least a second-rounder for him (should be doable). It would be great to keep Zac Jones – especially if other defensemen are on their way out – but this feels like a relationship that's just about beyond salvaging.

As for bigger moves, I would listen on Artemi Panarin (yes, that's right) and continue to shop Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Yes, I know there are no-move and no-trade clauses in play, but as we've seen, Chris Drury isn't afraid to play hardball. And it might not even come to that if he can find situations to which these players are amenable.

I'd even dangle K'Andre Miller just to see what the market for him is, and/or if he could be part of a package deal for a young, dynamic player.

Net-net, I'm all for a full tear-down. I don't want the Rangers to be a fringe playoff team. Better to bottom out and build draft/prospect capital than to be a slightly below-average team for the next few years.

Eric Kohn's Plan:

I'm going to break this out into four buckets.

Definitely Sell Bucket: Reilly Smith, Jimmy Vesey, and Ryan Lindgren. All are on expiring contracts. None of them have, or at least none of them should have, a future with this team beyond this season even if they somehow rally, pull off a 2019 St. Louis Blues and win a Stanley Cup. Get what you can for them while the getting's good. I'll throw Zac Jones in this bucket, as well, because we all know he's gone, even though it probably won't be for much because of how poorly the Rangers have handled this situation.

Explore Trade Options, Leaning Towards Selling Bucket: Chris Kreider, K'Andre Miller, Will Borgen. Opinions vary on whether Krieder is capable of bringing back much at all at this point. If the Rangers can find a good deal that brings back an NHL player or two and/or some good draft capital, I'm all for moving him, painful as it might be to my Rangers heart. Miller has looked somewhat better recently, but would probably really benefit from a fresh start and a chance of scenery. And because of his natural gifts, like his size, he can probably still bring back a solid return. Borgen I'm in between on. If they think they can resign him after this season to a contract around $3.5M AAV, keep him. If not, and especially if the early rumblings about a potential return for him at the deadline being a first round draft pick, move him out.

Only Sell for a Huge Haul Bucket: Artemi Panarin is the only one in this camp for me. Roberto has already made the case for this trade here, and I won't try to improve on it. I'm only into this if it's a HUGE haul. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to me.

The Mika Zibanejad Bucket: Yes, he's been better lately. Yes, he's on a six game point scoring streak. But do you really believe he's back to the Mika of two years ago? Even if he is, that Mika was wildly insufficient in the playoffs. If there's a deal to be had for him, perhaps the J.T. Miller trade possibility we keep hearing about, you do it and don't think twice. I wish Mika was the guy, but he's just not the guy.