Since the NHL trade deadline, the New York Rangers’ rebuild has been the talk of the league. Down in Florida, reports have flared up that the Rangers are open to trading a first-round pick.
For New York Rangers‘ GM Jeff Gorton, these past two months have been quite busy. You would think that he might try and relax a bit on his trip down to Florida for the NHL’s Spring Meetings. Well, think again.
Gorton told Craig Custance of The Athletic that he’s open to trading one of the team’s three first-round picks in the 2018 NHL Draft.
For those who have somehow forgotten, Gorton stockpiled draft picks in the deals that sent Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins and former captain Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Some fans weren’t happy with the acquisitions as they woke up from the fairy tale that said the Rangers were legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Now that fans have realized that it’s not a possibility this season, they’re hoping the Rangers’ recent play will land them a high first-round pick in 2018.
Moving one of those first-round picks come draft time is an option—and not a bad one if you think about it.
Not only could the Rangers potentially add some NHL-ready talent by moving a pick, but they’d still have two first-round selections in the draft. Adding those youngsters to prospects like of Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, and Ryan Lindgren, who the Rangers acquired in those aforementioned deals, could speed up the rebuilding process.
Let’s not forget the Rangers also have their two first-round picks from last year, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, biding their time to help the Rangers get back to the land of contenders in Hartford.
Like Henrik Lundqvist, who would certainly love the Rangers’ rebuild to be jump-started so he can get another crack at a Stanley Cup, we’ll just have to wait and see what Gorton has up his sleeve this offseason.
