Rangers Won't Come Close To 'Realistic Ideal Offseason'

The New York Rangers have a good deal of work to do this offseason that could involve trades, getting RFAs signed, and bringing in new faces. This is much easier than it sounds when every team is trying to get a leg up in the offseason and come back better than the season prior.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic made note of what a "realistic ideal offseason" would look like for the Rangers, but I would cut that down to 'ideal offseason' as I don't believe even much of it will happen. The plan consists of four trades, four RFAs signed, and three UFAs brought in during free agency.

The four trades would see Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Carson Soucy, and Dylan Garand all be shipped out. Kreider would go to the Columbus Blue Jackets for two third-round picks, Zibanejad would be traded to the Chicago Blackhawks along with a second-round pick in exchange for future considerations, Soucy would head to the Utah Mammoth for a fifth-round pick, and Garand would be dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights for Nic Hague who the Rangers then sign at $4.25 million AAV.

Kreider does have to go, that's clear, but the return is high. Not many teams will be willing to bring in Kreider after a tough season and it is clear he isn't coming close to reaching 50 goals again. His contract is also large. Zibanejad didn't have the best season, but he still had 20 goals and 62 points. He is signed until 2030 with an $8.5 million AAV cap hit and has a full no-move clause for three more years. He may not want to go, especially to a team like Chicago who finished at the bottom of the standings. The Blackhawks could use him, but it might even cost the Rangers more. They're not going to get off easily like the Jacob Trouba trade. Is Soucy worth a pick in return for another year at $3.25 million AAV? I don't believe so. As for the Garand for Hague swap, that could work.

Now, I think all of the RFA signings mentioned make sense. The Rangers need to keep players like Will Cuylle, K'Andre Miller, Matt Rempe, and Adam Edstrom.

As for the signings, signing Brock Boeser to three years at $6 million AAV is very unrealistic. There are teams with more cap space and who will offer him 6-7 years like the Minnesota Wild. The Wild were also better this season with less money to spend on their roster, which is now freed.

Signing Nate Schmidt wouldn't be unreasonable, but for $1 million AAV, it would be. And adding Adam Gaudette at $2.8 million AAV for three years is too long and too much money. Sure, he scored 19 goals this season, but is going to be 29 years old in October, hadn't played 60 games in a season before 2024-25, and hasn't scored more than 12 goals in a season prior either. It is a risk for what could be a one-off in a certain situation in Ottawa.

The Rangers are going to have their work cut out for them, but everything in an ideal offseason will be extremely challenging to pull off this summer.