TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Injuries to Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin have made the 2025-26 outlook even bleaker for the New York Rangers, who, before losing their two best players in Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth, had been aggressively trying to trade for reinforcements.
They were in on star defenseman Quinn Hughes before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild last month, as The Athletic previously reported, and have been pushing hard for Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood, a league source said. The asking price is believed to be a first-round pick and possibly more for the 30-year-old who has netted 17 goals through 42 games and is in the final year of a modest contract that pays him $1.5 million annually. The acquisition cost is prohibitive for the Rangers, but team president Chris Drury’s focus has been on netting a top-nine forward to bolster an offense that ranks among the lowest-scoring in the NHL.
Missing Fox and Shesterkin for at least part of a pivotal month — Fox is on LTIR and ineligible to return until Jan. 31, while Shesterkin is required to miss at least seven days on injured reserve — could change that equation, but the Rangers are still weighing their options, including a Sherwood trade. They aren’t viewing this as the time to wave the white flag, with the team entering play Wednesday only three points out of a wild-card spot, and they want to see how they perform in the 12 remaining games before the Olympic break before deciding their course.
Two other league sources, who, along with the other sources in this story, were granted anonymity so they could speak freely about sensitive information, believe some degree of selling is an increasingly likely outcome for the Rangers. New York would have to leapfrog six teams, all of whom have games in hand, to squeak back into a playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference. Furthermore, their need to get younger and faster while restocking a fledgling prospect pool has become apparent around the NHL.
If Drury decides to go down that road, it sounds like he would have owner James Dolan’s blessing. The head honcho of Madison Square Garden made a rare public comment Monday on WFAN Radio and stated, “As an owner, you have to be patient. The guys set out a plan. When I get impatient is when we veer off the plan and reach for the shiny thing.” That was interpreted as a signal that Drury has the green light to proceed as he sees fit, even if it means trading veterans for future assets.
Should that happen, multiple Rangers could find themselves in the crosshairs, starting with leading scorer Artemi Panarin. Extension talks never got very far with the pending unrestricted free agent, according to a person familiar with negotiations — a reality Panarin himself seemed to acknowledge in a November interview with The Athletic — creating the expectation that New York will approach the 34-year-old winger to discuss waiving his no-movement clause if the season slips out of reach.
The clock is ticking, with January shaping up to be a crucial month that could alter the direction of the franchise.