A Quiet Deadline Could Mean Busy Summer For New York Rangers

The recent injuries to Ryan McDonagh have made the likelihood that the New York Rangers trade Keith Yandle miniscule at best. Yandle has been playing on the first defensive pairing and has played well in McDonagh’s absence. That doesn’t mean the Rangers will stay quiet at the deadline, however.

The Rangers are a team that is good enough to make the playoffs, but it is questionable if they will make another run at the Stanley Cup, which is the only legitimate ending to a Rangers season after making the conference finals three out of the last four seasons. The 2015-16 Rangers are clearly a team in transition. The window for this group is clearly closing as Henrik Lundqvist gets older. The youth that should be replacing older veterans has been used as trade chips to bring in veterans who were thought to be the missing piece to a Cup.

New general manager Jeff Gorton will undoubtedly want to put his mark on this Rangers team he took over from Glen Sather, but how he does so could determine whether the Rangers will be a contender for one or two more years or a contender for a few more years down the road. Does he pull the trigger for someone like Eric Staal and hope he rediscovers his game? Does he think Andrew Ladd will be the missing piece? Would he sacrifice yet another first-round pick to get a veteran? Or does he stand pat and try to rework this roster over the summer when prices might not be as inflated? His options might be limited.

He can’t trade Yandle, his best trade chip, with the McDonagh injuries. However, there is the option of trading Chris Kreider if the right deal comes along. The soon-to-be restricted free agent has a ton of talent, but has not lived up to expectations as of yet on Broadway. Does he stick with Kreider and dangle Kevin Hayes or does he believe Hayes’ struggles this season are just a bump on the road to a successful career?

The Rangers are entering a crossroads and which direction they take could determine the near future of the franchise. It is not an enviable position Gorton finds himself in. His best bet might be to see what he can get for Kreider, but only if it is a drastic upgrade. If nothing is out there, then he should stand pat and try to rework this team over the summer, which should include finding a taker for Rick Nash to ease the cap burden.

The trade deadline might pass by without a peep from the Rangers, but Gorton will soon have his hands full trying to keep this team among the contenders in the East.