Friday\u2019s 3 p.m. ET NHL trade deadline is closing in, with the New York Rangers one of the expected sellers many around the league are monitoring. The Athletic\u2019s Vincent Z. Mercogliano and Peter Baugh will use this trade tracker to gather any news or things they\u2019re hearing that affect the Blueshirts, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often.<\/p>\n
Carrick on the move<\/p>\n
The Rangers made the Sam Carrick trade<\/a> official Friday morning, announcing that they are receiving a 2026 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres. The sixth-round pick originally belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n Carrick was a reliable fourth-line center over the past two seasons for the Rangers. He is under contract through 2026-27 at a $1 million cap hit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is kind of my first time going through it as well with teammates being out of the lineup, trade talks and all that stuff,\u201d said Adam Edstr\u00f6m<\/a>, one of Carrick\u2019s frequent linemates. \u201cCarrick has been a big part of my days in New York. Whatever happens, it\u2019s out of my control. He\u2019s been a great teammate and a great friend.\u201d \u2014 Peter Baugh<\/p>\n Trocheck, Carrick sit against Maple Leafs<\/p>\n So far, in the aftermath of Chris Drury\u2019s January letter announcing a rebuild, the Rangers have yet to trade more than pending unrestricted free agents. That appears set to change. Centers Trocheck and Carrick, both of whom have term beyond this year, were healthy scratches Thursday against Toronto for roster management reasons.<\/p>\n Trocheck is one of the most intriguing players on the trade market. He\u2019s a proven second-line center and is under term through 2028-29 with a reasonable cap hit ($5.625 million). It\u2019s paramount that Drury nail the return for Trocheck, who just won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA. Of Rangers players who could be traded by Friday\u2019s deadline, the 32-year-old is the team\u2019s most valuable. The Rangers\u2019 asking price presumably starts with at least a first-round pick and good prospect, if not more. New York\u2019s steep prices have already affected at least one team\u2019s pre-deadline thinking. Colleagues Michael Russo and Joe Smith reported that the Minnesota Wild\u2019s interest in Trocheck has faded because of how much Drury wants in return.<\/p>\n Scratching Carrick makes sense, too. Centers have gone for high prices this deadline: just ask Colorado and Edmonton, both of whom paid heavy prices for Nicolas Roy and Jason Dickinson, respectively. The Rangers won\u2019t get a first-round pick for Carrick (unless the market truly goes wild), but he could probably bring back the equivalent of a second- to fourth-round pick. \u2014 Baugh<\/p>\n Latest on Trocheck<\/p>\n The Rangers held an optional morning skate on Thursday at the MSG Training Center that mainly consisted of young players. Many veterans stayed off the ice, including Vincent Trocheck.<\/p>\n When asked if he anticipates having the 32-year-old center available for Thursday\u2019s 7 p.m. home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Mike Sullivan was noncommittal.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, everybody\u2019s a game-time decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While New York continues to weigh offers and holds off on determining its lineup, Minnesota-based colleague Michael Russo is reporting that the Wild\u2019s hopes of getting Trocheck \u201care fading.\u201d<\/a> They\u2019ve had an offer on the table, but Rangers team president Chris Drury has signaled it\u2019s not enough to get it done, and Minnesota appears to be pivoting to other center options.<\/p>\n Where will Drury turn now? The consensus around the league is that the price for Trocheck is too rich, but the Rangers have roughly 27 hours left to persuade someone to meet it, reduce their ask or take the risk of letting this linger into the summer. \u2014 Vincent Z. Mercogliano<\/p>\n Lafreni\u00e8re likely staying put<\/p>\n One player who hasn\u2019t received a lot of attention lately is Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re. The Rangers have been gauging the market on pretty much all of their players, the 24-year-old winger included, but the belief around the league is that a trade is more likely this summer, if it happens at all.<\/p>\n I sat down with Lafreni\u00e8re following Wednesday\u2019s practice and asked if he\u2019s had conversations with management about his future, to which he responded, \u201cNot a lot now.\u201d We also discussed his desire to stay in New York, his disappointing season, trying to finish strong and more. You can read it all here<\/a>. \u2014 Mercogliano<\/p>\n Fox opens up on uncertain future<\/p>\n Adam Fox is not among the players who could get traded this week, but he made waves after his first game back from injury. Asked whether he wants to stay with the Rangers through a retool, he said those are conversations for the summer<\/a>. He expanded on those comments in an interview with The Athletic on Wednesday, discussing the uncertainty around the roster and how he finds it hard to think too much about his situation during the season.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have a lot of time to process and digest everything, I think that\u2019s when you kind of evaluate the landscape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Read his full comments about the aftermath of Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury\u2019s letter, watching the Olympics from home and his relationship with Mike Sullivan here<\/a>. \u2014 Baugh<\/p>\n Rumblings as of Wednesday evening<\/p>\n The deadline always spurs action, with less than two full days left for general managers to make their final pushes. But as of Wednesday evening, it\u2019s been a slow-moving process.<\/p>\n Some have classified this as a buyer\u2019s market, but I\u2019m hearing mixed opinions on that. As one league source told me, it all depends on your perspective.<\/p>\n Sellers such as the Rangers have been underwhelmed by initial offers and are holding out for more. Meanwhile, I\u2019ve heard from multiple executives and agents who say buyers are perceiving asking prices as unreasonably high.<\/p>\n There are other factors contributing to the gridlock, as colleague Pierre LeBrun laid out earlier this week<\/a>, including a new playoff salary cap that prevents teams from using long-term injured reserve to bloat their lineups and the elimination of third-party brokers for salary retention. That might reduce the volume of trades this year, but there\u2019s sure to be some level of activity in the coming hours.<\/p>\n It amounts to a high-stakes game of chicken. Will any of the interested parties cave and meet Drury\u2019s demands before the clock winds down? Or will the buyers hold firm, forcing him to either take what\u2019s on the table or punt trade talks into the summer?<\/p>\n Drury has signaled he\u2019s willing to hold his assets, according to a league source. It\u2019s a viable threat considering his most coveted players are under team control beyond this season, most notably center Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Braden Schneider. But there\u2019s a feeling around the league he could be using that as a negotiating tactic.<\/p>\n The pressure is on to do something after Drury published a Jan. 16 letter declaring a retool<\/a>. He\u2019s already moved two pending free agents, Artemi Panarin and Carson Soucy, and though newly acquired prospect Liam Greentree<\/a> has been on fire lately in the OHL, Drury\u2019s recent trade returns have generally been lackluster. There\u2019s much heavier lifting to be done to convince fans he can clean up one of the NHL\u2019s messiest situations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The belief here remains that Trocheck will be moved \u2014 he seems to think the same thing<\/a> \u2014 with the Minnesota Wild the team to watch. Their GM, Bill Guerin, made it clear Tuesday\u2019s acquisition of fourth-line center Michael McCarron doesn\u2019t preclude him from pursuing more help down the middle.<\/p>\n The Wild are not on Trocheck\u2019s 12-team no-trade list and have extended an offer<\/a>, as colleagues Michael Russo and Joe Smith reported. The package is likely built around Michigan State center Charlie Stramel, who has been the buzz for weeks and was mentioned in my Jan. 28 column<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stramel isn\u2019t considered a future No. 1 center, but he\u2019s a legitimate middle-six prospect<\/a> who landed at No. 83 in Corey Pronman\u2019s under-23 rankings<\/a>. The only Minnesota player who came in higher was Danila Yurov, but the sense is Guerin has walled him off.<\/p>\n Drury has surely considered the Wild\u2019s proposal and might ultimately take it, but he\u2019s using the allotted time to see whether anyone can beat it. The Utah Mammoth inquired, according to a league source, but Trocheck has been open about his preference not to go too far west. The Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings are others we\u2019ve had our eye on<\/a>, but I also wonder about a mystery team such as the Buffalo Sabres. Colleague Chris Johnston called them \u201ca potential dark horse team that could spice up this trade deadline.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n There are longer odds on Schneider\u2019s<\/a> being dealt before Friday, according to a league source. The Rangers have been seeking a young, skilled forward who\u2019s ready to contribute right away, with no indication anyone has met that price. That could change in the next 24 hours or so, but they appear content to keep the 24-year-old pending RFA and re-evaluate this summer.<\/p>\n After Trocheck, the next-most likely trade candidates are mainly bottom-six forwards and fringe prospects<\/a>. New York has a lot of holes to fill, but there\u2019s a bit of a logjam in that area. Veteran center Sam Carrick probably has the most appeal from that group, but Brett Berard, Jonny Brodzinski, Brennan Othmann, Taylor Raddysh, Conor Sheary and Adam S\u00fdkora are among the others who could factor in for mid-to-late-round draft value or as sweeteners in larger deals. The Rangers have been shopping Othmann for months<\/a> and included him in previous offers, but they\u2019ve yet to find a taker.<\/p>\n The final thing to watch for is a trade that absorbs another team\u2019s unwanted salary in exchange for draft picks or other assets. New York is projected to have $8.685 million in cap space on deadline day, per PuckPedia, with that number ballooning to over $30 million this summer. (Over $35 million if Trocheck is traded.) Drury will be looking to weaponize that flexibility, and though that\u2019s usually more of an offseason maneuver, it shouldn\u2019t be ruled out if the right opportunity presents itself this week. \u2014 Mercogliano<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friday\u2019s 3 p.m. ET NHL trade deadline is closing in, with the New York Rangers one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,3617,575,85],"class_list":["post-522865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}