The New York Rangers failed to make the playoffs last season and are looking to shake up their roster this season.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Rangers acquire Sean Monahan from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a four-player blockbuster deal.
Rangers acquire:
Blue Jackets acquire:
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as New York would trade Miller, who’s a star defenseman, for Monahan, who can be a second-line center, with two other players being dealt.
New York would acquire Monahan, who completed the first year of his five-year, $27.5 million deal. If the Rangers trade Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider as rumored, New York needs to find a replacement, and Monahan would be a good second-line center. Last season, he recorded 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in 54 games.
The Rangers would also acquire Aston-Reese, who is a solid fourth-line forward. Aston-Reese is under contract for $775,000 next season and can add some grit to the bottom of the lineup.
In return, the Rangers would trade Miller, who’s a pending RFA, and New York may not have the salary to keep him. Miller would be a top-two pairing with the Blue Jackets and add some offense to the blue line. He recorded 7 goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 74 games.
The Rangers would also trade Sykora, who’s a 20-year-old forward prospect. He was selected in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft and could compete for a roster spot in Columbus next season.
Analyst Urges Rangers to Trade Miller
Miller is a star defenseman for the Rangers, but he could be used in a trade package this summer.
Miller would be highly sought after by several teams as he can be a solid top-four defenseman who can score. However, his fit with the Rangers hasn’t been the best. With that, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski urges New York to trade Miller.
“I would trade K’Andre,” Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. “I think the issue with K’Andre is that I don’t think the growth has been there in the way I’d like it to be at this point in his career. Now, you can blame that on the state of the Rangers’ blue line, partners … I would move him at this point.”
Miller was selected 22nd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Rangers. He’s skated in 368 career games, recording 36 goals and 96 assists for 132 points in his NHL career.
Rangers Coach Hopes to Make Team Competitive
New York hired Mike Sullivan this offseason to be their new head coach.
After the Rangers failed to make the playoffs, Peter Laviolette was let go, and Sullivan was quickly hired to replace him. Now that he is hired, Sullivan says he wants to make the Rangers as competitive as possible.
“I hope to bring those experiences here to New York that can help me be a better coach for this group of players, that can help us be as competitive as we can,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to try to push these guys every day to maximize the potential that exists here. And we’ll see where that takes us. I know there’s a lot of talent in the dressing room, but as we all know talent alone doesn’t win championships. Teams win championships and I think that’s going to be our challenge from Day 1 is to become a team.”
The Rangers enter the offseason with $8.4 million in cap space.
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