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The New York Rangers had a wild 24 hours last Friday. They traded Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and signed Igor Shesterkin to a monster extension. New York Post columnist Larry Brooks reported that day that they were interested in Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators. That was shot down by Ian Mendes, a former reporter who works in the Ottawa organization. Now, Senators owner Michael Andlauer is accusing the Rangers of tampering and New York has fired back.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported this from the NHL GM Meetings. “Michael Andlauer did not hold back in his frustration and anger that that report was out there. He called it ‘soft tampering' twice during this interview as far as what he considers something the league should be cracking down on.”
Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli swooped in with the Rangers' rebuttal, “This is an irresponsible accusation and we defer to the Commissioner’s office.”
ESPN's Kevin Weekes finishes off the circle by denying any conversation about Tkachuk within the Rangers organization.
The reality is that Trouba did not fit with the Senators and Tkachuk is a much more valuable piece. The Rangers should be looking to improve their team but Tkachuk is out of the question.
Best Rangers trade options without Brady Tkachuk option
Trading Jacob Trouba was a pure salary cap move for the Rangers. His contract was an albatross considering his drop in play in recent years. Despite his captaincy, they needed to trade him to add another piece to this start-studded core. While Tkachuk would be a good fit, he is unavailable. So who else could they grab?
Mikael Granlund will be one of the best forwards available at the deadline. The San Jose Sharks have been solid but nowhere near playoff caliber so far. Granlund has 30 points through 28 games and could provide a scoring spark to the Rangers down the stretch. His contract runs out after this season, which is perfect considering Shesterkin's mega-deal begins next year.
Crosstown trades are rare in any sport but especially between the New York hockey clubs. Brock Nelson could be a valuable trade piece for the Islanders but do not expect the Rangers to be in on it. The hated rivals rarely trade with one another and Nelson is far too good of a piece for Lou Lamoriello to give to Chris Drury.
Taylor Hall would be a great piece to add to this core for the Rangers. He is a veteran scorer hungry for his first Stanley Cup. Similarly to their 2022-23 addition of Patrick Kane, he could bring leadership to a room that now does not have a captain.
