New York Rangers Rumors: Are The Rangers Interested In Mike Ribeiro?

Apparently rumors have been floating around the past couple of days that the New York Rangers are interested in Mike Ribeiro. Those rumors got fueled Wednesday when E.J. Hradek mentioned the Rangers being one of the teams interested in Capitals' center Mike Ribeiro.

There are two key parts to what Hradek said. The first is Hradek didn't go into too much detail, aside from mentioning that the Rangers were one of the teams interested. The second -- and more important thing in my opinion -- is that Hradek made it seem like the Rangers were simply kicking tires.

Any general manager knows when situations are close to surfacing. Ribeiro will be a name thrown around at the deadline because he's on a team that will most likely end up being sellers, and because this is the final year of his contract. The Capitals aren't going to want to let him go for nothing and other teams would love to get their hands on a rental of his quality.

But is he a fit for the Rangers? Are they truly interested?

My guess is no. The Capitals are going to want a king's ransom for him and the Rangers simply don't need to give up anything to bring him in. They would also need to shift some money, especially since the acquisition of Roman Hamrlik. That means guys like Brad Richards or Marian Gaborik would have to go the other way. For a rental? Yeah, not going to happen.

Ribeiro obviously brings quite a bit of offense with him. He's been solid in the playoffs (highlighted by 17 points in 18 games with the Dallas Stars in 2007-2008) and he has 28 points in 25 games right now. Would that be an upgrade for the Rangers? Right now, yes, but if Richards finds his game it's not. And even though he got off to a slow start, Richards been much better the past few games.

Is it worth the risk? I don't think so.

I like to dip into some of these stories, especially as we come closer to the trade deadline, because it's important to take a good, hard look at what makes sense and what doesn't before the whirlwind begins. This is one of those circumstances that simply wouldn't make that much sense for the Rangers.

Thoughts?