Are the New York Rangers Done Reshaping their Roster?
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun joined Jay Onrait on SportsCenter and was asked about the New York Rangers and if General Manager Chris Drury was done making trades between now and the March 7th NHL Trade Deadline.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Jay Onrait: “Do you see the possibility of Chris Drury turning around right away and making another deal. He’s traded (Jacob) Trouba, but as you mentioned, (Kaapo) Kakko comes next. We know Chris Kreider‘s name was out there anyone else?”
Pierre LeBrun: “Yeah. I mean, listen, the Trade Freeze comes on Thursday night at midnight. So I don’t know if he’s got another one in him right now, but certainly between now and March 7, yeah, I don’t think he’s done. I mean, the Rangers have been really the biggest disappointment of the season in the NHL, in many ways, I guess you could argue Nashville.
But unlike Nashville, the Rangers were two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final six months ago. And to see their fall from that position to this is unreal. And ever since that news leaked of Chris Drury messaging all the other GMs and saying Kreider and Trouba were available, the Rangers are 3-9-0.
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So if part of the reasoning from MSG was to have that leak, obviously filter through the media, was to sort of shake up the team and wake them up, it did not work. It went the other way for the New York Rangers. And it just, it’s a team in disarray right now, a team that’s not on the same page.
It feels like for those players that it’s not enjoyable to come to work every day. So again, we’ll see where this goes. But no, I don’t think Chris Drury is done.”
New York Rangers Setting Themselves Up To Do Something Big
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Toronto Radio during his weekly Thursday appearance and stated the Rangers are clearing cap space to do something big.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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“I think, right now, the whole mood, the way it is around the Rangers, is they want to clear out people. And Chris Drury and the New York Rangers front office have clearly decided that this edition of the Rangers wasn’t going to work, and now they’re clearing the decks.
To me, what is going on here is that the Rangers are clearing the decks to try something big. And I still think we’re all trying to figure out what that would be. Are they trading for someone? Are they going to go for one of the as yet unsigned players in the NHL sea? But they’re clearing the decks.”
NHLRumors.com Note: Not only do the Rangers have Chris Kreider available, but K’Andre Miller is RFA. Could they get Mika Zibanejad to waive his no-movement clause? Some of their other players, who just signed or are in the middle of new deals don’t have their trade protection kick in for a little bit. One thing is clear: the Rangers are trying to do something.
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