The New York Rangers have emerged amid the discussion stemming from the fallout of the Quinn Hughes trade. The aftermath of the season’s biggest move has revealed interesting insights into what happened behind the scenes.
That chatter has spilled over into details regarding the teams reportedly in on Hughes. One team bouncing around the rumor mill was the New York Rangers. Rumors suggested that the Blueshirts had made a pitch to the Vancouver Canucks for Hughes.
However, that same chatter suggested the Rangers didn’t get very far. Insider Greg Wyshynski of ESPN revealed why New York didn’t make much headway.
In a December 16 piece, Wyshynski laid out why the Rangers backed off their pursuit of Quinn Hughes:
“The Rangers inquired, given their proximity to Hughes’ brothers’ team. Winger Alexis Lafreniere has been a target for the Canucks for some time — unsurprising, given his former agent, Émilie Castonguay, is their assistant general manager. But he wasn’t the only player Vancouver coveted: The Canucks also were interested in forwards Gabe Perreault, Will Cuylle and Noah Laba, as well as defenseman Braden Schneider. Ultimately, the Rangers did not want to part with the requisite players to acquire Hughes.”
The price tag would have certainly been astronomical for the Rangers. Plus, GM Chris Drury would have had to throw in a first-round pick in there. That return would have been tough to stomach.
Ultimately, the Rangers made the right call by backing off. The team has few promising young players. That’s why giving up the bulk of their prospects just wouldn’t have made sense.
Rangers Would Have Had to Make Other Moves, Too
While the reluctance to part with players like Laba, Perreault, and Schneider is totally understandable, the biggest hurdle would have been clearing enough cap space for Hughes. Hughes went to Minnesota with a $7.85 million cap hit.
While the Rangers currently have a little under $4 million in space, it’s worth pointing out that nearly $10 million are on LTIR. Once Adam Fox comes back, his cap hit will be back on the books.
As such, the Rangers would have had to clear even more cap space to fit Hughes’ contract. In short, the deal wouldn’t have worked even if the Blueshirts were willing to part with the “requisite players.”
Free-Agency Still a Possibility for Hughes and New York
As it stands, free agency may be the best path for the Rangers to ever land Quinn Hughes. While Hughes and the Wild have said all the right things for now, there are no assurances he will re-sign in Minnesota.
So, the Rangers, like just about every other NHL club, will be holding their breath to see if Hughes will go to market in 2027. There is a very good chance that will be the case, even if Hughes ends up re-signing in Minnesota.
By 2027, the Rangers could have as much as $50 million in space to play with. That could be enough to entice Hughes to sign in New York. There’s still a long way to go in this saga, so patience will be crucial.
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