The offseason hasn’t even started yet, but we’ve already entered whisper season around the NHL. Whether it’s executives, scouts, agents or reporters, everyone is trying to read the tea leaves and figure out how teams will maneuver this summer.

The belief among many of them is that New York Rangers team president Chris Drury would like to be active. He signaled as much in his Jan. 16 letter to season-ticket holders, with his emphasis on retooling a clear indication that he’s looking to execute a quick turnaround.

Of course, there’s a big gap between wanting to be aggressive and actually doing it. The Rangers’ offseason will be determined by opportunity and their ability to capitalize if any arise, which is far from a given. There are no obvious solutions for the worst team in the Eastern Conference, but one thing I keep hearing is that if there’s a big move that Drury deems worthwhile, he’s going take a swing.

What would constitute a big move? And who could feasibly be available? I’ve been asking around to try and get some answers.

There’s no doubt that trading veteran center Vincent Trocheck, which New York is largely expected to do, will be a major piece of business. But that’s likely to be for a package of assets. Whether the Rangers can pull off a trade (or signing) where they’re bringing back the best player in the deal is a greater unknown.

Peter Baugh and I previously detailed potential trade targets, which included possible salary dumps, young players and reclamation projects. But for the purposes of this story, I focused on different avenues in which Drury can pursue a notable splash. The idea was to pinpoint established top-six forwards and top-four defensemen while identifying teams that might have reasons to trade them. Let me know if you think I missed any obvious ones, but these are the situations that people around the league — including the Rangers — are monitoring:

UFA route

There’s a case to be made that the Rangers should avoid any long-term free agent commitments this summer, especially given how weak the UFA class is and how inflated the prices may end up being. But the argument for going the free-agent route is that it wouldn’t require trading away any assets at a time when Drury is trying to accumulate them. All it would cost is money, and New York has plenty of that with a projection of nearly $30 million in salary cap space.

This would have been a different conversation eight or nine months ago, when the 2026 UFA class had the makings of something special. But a flurry of re-signings left only a handful who would even classify as big swings, with Alex Tuch the most appealing remaining option for the Rangers. He checks the boxes for scoring (33 goals or more in three of the last four seasons), size (6-foot-4, 219 pounds) and positional need (right wing) while fitting the style that Drury and coach Mike Sullivan want to play. But for a team with a dearth of high-end talent, does it make sense to offer top dollar to a 30-year-old who’s more of a complementary top-six piece than a true play driver?

Darren Raddysh is considered the top defenseman available — and ranked No. 1 on Chris Johnston’s free agent big board — but I’m not sure I see the Rangers splurging on a right-handed power-play quarterback when they already have Adam Fox.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have made attempts to re-sign Tuch, but as of Tuesday morning, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was reporting that those negotiations remained “status quo.” The chances of Tuch hitting the market are increasing by the day — but if Buffalo intends to keep its second-leading goal-scorer, it will have to trim in other places.

A projected $12.9 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, won’t be nearly enough to fit Tuch and restricted free-agent forwards Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs, the former of whom is due a large pay increase. Looking further ahead, defenseman Bowen Byram’s contract is expiring next year. Pierre raised the possibility of Byram testing free agency in 2027, in which case the Sabres may want to explore trade options before it gets that far.

Buffalo is loaded with left-handed defensemen, led by Norris Trophy finalist Rasmus Dahlin, and could decide to trade from an area of strength to free up cap space for Benson, Tuch and others. The Rangers have a huge need for LHD and could be a logical fit if Byram or former No. 1 overall pick Owen Power, who has five years remaining at an $8.35 million cap hit, becomes available.

Dallas Stars

A dream scenario would be the Stars failing to extend 45-goal-scorer Jason Robertson, who’s arguably the top RFA on the market this summer. He’s only 26 and would help any team get both younger and significantly more dangerous on offense. But the sense out of Dallas is that re-signing its leading scorer is offseason priority No. 1.

The more likely scenario sees the cap-crunched Stars moving on from others to make room for Robertson’s new contract, with 29-year-old forward Roope Hintz being someone people around the league are curious about here. He missed the final couple months of the season due to a lower-body injury but has averaged 0.91 points per game over the last six years while playing multiple positions and making solid two-way contributions. Hintz has five years left on a contract that pays $8.45 million annually, but that could look like a bargain compared to what Tuch will make on the open market. He does have a full no-movement clause, though, giving him the ability to block any trade.

Mavrik Bourque would register as less of a splash, but the 24-year-old center is another possible cap casualty in Dallas. He posted a career-high 41 points (20 goals and 21 assists) this season and will be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.

San Jose Sharks

There are two plausible paths for the Rangers and Sharks to make a deal.

The first is through the draft, with New York believed to be one of several teams gauging San Jose’s interest in moving the No. 2 pick. The theory is that the Sharks need defensemen and could still get a high-quality one if they slide back a few slots. The Rangers, who own the No. 5 pick, are in range to pull off such a deal and snag one of the top forward prospects: wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg and center Caleb Malhotra.

The second would be Drury using one of his few trade chips — defenseman Braden Schneider — to pry away one of San Jose’s excess of young forwards. If Sharks GM Mike Grier sits tight at No. 2 and takes Stenberg, for example, perhaps he’d be inclined to part with a forward further down the depth chart in order to strengthen his back end. William Eklund would be an ideal target, but San Jose has a host of exciting prospects — Filip Bystedt, Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty, among others — who could infuse New York’s pipeline with much-needed skill.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues, like the Rangers, are a team in transition looking to leverage their best assets to shake things up. The big fish is 26-year-old center Robert Thomas, with 28-year-old scoring Jordan Kyrou also reportedly being shopped around. Both are under contract through 2031 for identical average annual values of $8.125 million.

Thomas is a young, dynamic center who many teams (the Rangers included) would surely covet, but St. Louis is apparently asking for astronomical prices. Outside of shopping the No. 5 pick, which should be a hard no given the depleted state of New York’s prospect pool, it’s hard to figure what Drury could offer that would move the needle enough in a very competitive bidding situation.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Everyone’s thoughts will immediately go to Auston Matthews, and understandably so. As colleague Chris Johnston detailed earlier this month, the Leafs’ captain is looking for a clear vision before fully committing to what comes next. But it appears new GM John Chayka has taken initial steps to assuage Matthews’ concerns and turn down the temperature.

It will be a feeding frenzy if one of the NHL’s top centers ever decides he wants out, with connections to make with New York given his Team USA experience alongside Sullivan, Drury and Rangers captain J.T. Miller. But it feels like a long shot for this summer.

In the meantime, the expectation is that Chayka will pursue other changes to calm the storm in Toronto. It’s unclear what that means for Matthew Knies, a 23-year-old winger who plays with an edge and registered 66 points (23 goals and 43 assists) last season, but the Rangers are among a group of teams wondering if he’s available. Knies carries a $7.75 million AAV through 2031, at which point he’ll only be 28.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights are the only team on this list that’s still playing, which makes it difficult to gauge their offseason plans (especially if their season ends with a Stanley Cup). But what we can project with certainty is that they’ll be dealing with a very tight cap situation and will need to shed salary, one way or another.

Pavel Dorofeyev is seriously complicating matters. The 25-year-old winger has posted back-to-back seasons of 35 goals or more and has exploded with another 10 through 15 playoff games. He’ll be an RFA this summer and is set to get paid. The problem is, Vegas is only looking at around $4.6 million in available space.

Given his age and proven finishing ability, Dorofeyev is exactly the type of player the Rangers should be pursuing.

He’s a prime candidate for an offer sheet, but the Rangers’ lack of a 2027 second-round pick — which was sent to Pittsburgh as part of the 2024 trade for Reilly Smith — would prohibit them from offering more than $7,163,498 annually and likely take them out of the running. Drury’s best hope would be convincing the Golden Knights to accept a trade, particularly if Vegas fears Dorofeyev signing an offer sheet with another club. The acquisition cost, of course, would be high.

The Knights’ likely preference, though, will to be trim from other areas in an effort to keep him. The possible cap casualties — center Tomáš Hertl and goalie Adin Hill — are either too old or not at a position of need, but perhaps there are other ways for New York to weaponize its cap space. Absorbing veteran forwards such as Hertl, William Karlsson, Nic Dowd or Keegan Kolesar could lengthen the Rangers’ lineup while simultaneously providing assets for future trades.

Ottawa Senators

I don’t want to belabor a point that we’ve already covered fairly extensively, especially with all signs pointing to Senators captain Brady Tkachuk remaining with the team entering next season. But as I’ve written, if anything ever changes on that front, expect the Rangers to be involved.