The Rangers just signaled 'goodbyes' are coming, and it should put Brad Treliving on alert
Photo credit: Peter Carr/The Journal News / Imagn (left) Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images (right)
Rangers GM Chris Drury put out a statement saying the team is going to go through changes, and Brad Treliving needs to keep tabs on who might be available.
New York sits last in the Metropolitan Division with a 20-22-6 record, while also dealing with injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox; not to mention they have Artemi Panarin as a pending free agent.
According to a statement from GM Chris Drury, the New York Rangers are going to undergo several roster changes as the team looks to re-tool and give their fans a more suitable on-ice product.
Rangers are retooling as New York's season keeps tumbling
Drury's statement on Friday gave fans hope but also laid things bare about how the team has executed this year and what needs to change:
We know and feel your disappointment with how this season has gone to this point. We are just as frustrated and want noting more than to deliver an on-ice product you can be proud of - it drives us every day.
With our position in the standings and injuries to key players, we must be realistic and honest about the situation. We are not going to stand pat.
This will be a retool around our core players and prospects. This will not be a rebuild.
That may mean saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years. These players represented the Rangers with pride and class and will always be a part of our family.
With our position in the standings and injuries to key players, we must be realistic and honest about the situation. We are not going to stand pat.
This will be a retool around our core players and prospects. This will not be a rebuild.
That may mean saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years. These players represented the Rangers with pride and class and will always be a part of our family.
The statement continued on thanking Rangers fans for sticking through things and hope that new changes will be the key to turning the season from a miserable one to a respectable one.
Toronto has some targets they can go after, but will it cost too much?
But that means that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to be a team who keeps their ears open for who is on the block in New York as they could use some improvement to their roster amidst an injury-filled season of their own.
Panarin could be a huge splash and someone who would instantly make the top-six a dangerous threat, but comes with a huge price tag that may grow bigger come the summer.
The 34-year old has 51 points in 47 games and is still an elite playmaking threat who also has very solid postseason numbers - a huge bonus for any contender but he also makes over $11-million so it's certainly expensive.
Vinny Trocheck is also a person who could be on the move and with a fairly respectable contract for the next three seasons after this he definitely could bring some assets back from a contender.
Trocheck has 27 points in 34 games and has been throwing the body a lot this season but otherwise his normally staunch defense has taken a hit; though that could be in part to New York's struggling goaltender situation.
Shifting to defense, Toronto could definitely look to bring in Carson Soucy; a player on an expiring deal who would fit perfectly as a replacement for Chris Tanev, is a free agent and won't cost too much to bring in.
He's a big body, only 31, has eight points in 44 games, a plus-five, 63 blocks and 68 hits this year and would be a much cheaper alternative to a Rasmus Andersson and more akin to a Luke Schenn-type deal.
With the Maple Leafs lacking any real assets, it would be hard for them to really pry with a top prospect like Easton Cowan or their first-round pick especially if it's going to bring back such a burdensome deal like Panarin's.
But this is Toronto we're talking about, and it wouldn't be shocking to see them mortgage their last bit of the future for a chance at success now.
And with the Rangers ready for business, they could have an offer that's too good for Brad Treliving to walk away from.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Two Leafs forwards are on Brad Treliving's extension list right now
Two Leafs forwards are on Brad Treliving's extension list right now
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 16|1069 ANSWERS The Rangers just signaled 'goodbyes' are coming, and it should put Brad Treliving on alert Do you think the Maple Leafs should go after any of the New York Rangers' players? | ||
| Yes | 576 | 53.9 % |
| No | 493 | 46.1 % |
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