With the Panthers winning the Cup on Monday night, it’s now the off-season. For GM Chris Drury, finding a way to plug the holes that exist in the team and up the talent and maybe compete level, he is now officially on the clock. New York got an up close look at what it takes to win the title in the loss to Florida and how Edmonton rallied to tie the series at three, setting up Game 7. How he goes about doing so is a matter of opinion and debate among nearly everyone.
Is it more skill? Do they need more grit? A combination of the two? Does Drury run it mainly back, supplementing what’s there? Will he go somewhat scorched earth, tearing it partially down in order to rebuild it? (This includes decisions on Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren). The next week will tell us a lot.
Friday and Saturday is the last in-person NHL Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas. New York has a pick in the first round, 30th overall, then no picks in rounds 2 and 3. While the cupboard isn’t bare, the Rangers certainly need to add to the pipeline. But Drury could dangle the pick with a player -
Kaapo Kakko prominently rumored - to move up in the draft or net additional talent.
Kakko has certainly not lived up to his draft status as the second overall pick. At $2.4 million this million, he is not that expensive for what he is, a decent third line player who is responsible defensively but one whose offense has failed to develop. As long as you view him in that light, then you won’t be disappointed. It’s still possible he takes the same kind of step forward we saw from Alexis Lafreniere, but Kakko looks to lack to finishing touch and offensive skill that Laf has and showed in snippets even before this season. I would put the odds at Kakko being dealt at or before the draft at 60-40 of a deal occurring.
I would love if the Rangers were able to deal for
Rutger McGroarty from Winnipeg. Putting aside the conversation on players dictating where they will go even after getting drafted - New York benefitted from the same with Jimmy Vesey and Adam Fox - McGroarty has made it fairly clear he won’t sign with the Jets. If the Blueshirts could add McGroarty, that certainly would help their right wing depth. But we can say the same for almost 30 other teams, a large number of which will be in on the winger. Same with Nikolai Ehlers, who has one year at $6 mil remaining on his contract.
Two prominent players were mentioned in the news the last few days tied to the Rangers. I would put the odds at either happening as mildly remote, though the second player is more likely than the first. The back drop of either possibility is how this move impacts the roster as a whole and what does it mean to the end goal to win a Cup.
The Rangers are one of eight teams to express interest in
Trevor Zegras according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. Zegras is a major talent but he clearly appears to have worn out his welcome in Anaheim. The additional talent brought in by GM Pat Verbeek in the draft would allow the Ducks to move on from Zegras, who at one point looked to be the future face of the franchise. That should provide a little pause as to whether he is a good fit in New York. Add in the desire to get heavier and be more physical and you wonder how that statement dovetails with possibly adding Zegras.
What also has to be considered is the asking price. Verbeek had a high asking price in Frank Vatrano, who still might be in the mix to come to New York. I would venture a guess the desire return for Zegras given his age etc. would be even higher. Zegras, a New York native, would probably love to play for his hometown team and he would up the talent level, which is why Drury needs to be engaged until the end on the somewhat polarizing player.
At least eight teams have expressed serious interest in Zegras, including the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres, and I believe other clubs have also been in the mix.
Regarding the specific asking price, it varies team-by-team and so far, nobody will elaborate on the specific demands aside from emphasizing it’s a “big price.”
Who says you can’t go home again. According to some reports,
Patrick Kane and the Rangers may be a match again. We all know how the first iteration of this combination went. But there are strong whispers from Chris Johnson and others that we could see Kane-Rangers 2.0.
Some would want to see this happen because they hope it blows up as spectacularly as the first one did. Others will point to the fact that Kane was a shell of himself when he first arrived, and now post-surgery, he might be a better option. Mika Zibanejad in his post-series comments noted that if he had a choice, he would like a playmaker opposite him on right wing. While Kane does create, he is more of a finisher than a playmaker. Plus, is he the right fit for what we saw this team needed in the playoffs? Last, are you going three years and possibly up to 5mil per to sign him?
The next week will be fascinating. At the end of the seven days, we should have a pretty good idea how this team will look in 2024-25 and possibly beyond. Drury has work to do and I don’t think any of us have an idea what will happen by next Monday night.
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