The New York Rangers offseason carries on as slowly as ever, with the latest news being the Rangers getting the fifth pick in the upcoming draft. As the offseason continues, I’m looking for potential Rangers trade targets that could help . Personally, I don’t want the Rangers to do anything too drastic. Unless Connor McDavid wakes up one day and wants to be a Ranger, New York is best off working around the edges of the roster and trying for a small improvement with the youth continuing to grow, setting the Rangers up even better for next offseason.
Still, Chris Drury has never proven to be the most patient man. We will see what happens, but here are some Rangers trade targets this offseason that could not only fill some team needs, but weaponize cap space to accrue more assets in the system.
Bowen Byram
Bowen Byram has been a great fit in Buffalo, but the Sabres and Byram have not yet reached an agreement on a contract extension. Byram is a 2027 free agent if nothing happens, and teams at this point essentially never let it get to that point. It’s assumed Buffalo wants to re-sign Byram, but they may not be able to if they want to bring Alex Tuch back. Since Buffalo has tremendous defense depth, this might be a shrewd Rangers trade target.
Byram is turning 26 years old this year, has plenty of experience in the top four, and most importantly, can move the puck. There may be a fit with a potential Vincent Trocheck trade, but it depends on whether Buffalo actually wants to make a trade with the Rangers. It’s been rumored that Terry Pegula, Buffalo’s owner, didn’t want to make blockbuster deals with the Rangers, but perhaps that stance has softened.
Alex Pietrangelo
An outside of the box thought, Alex Pietrangelo could be an interesting Rangers trade target. This would require some creativity, as the Rangers would not be acquiring a useful player, but a bad contract from a team that desperately needs to shed cap space this summer. Pietrangelo has one year left on his contract at an $8.8 million cap hit. It appears next season is lost for the Rangers, and it also looks like they won’t need to spend up to the cap. Pietrangelo makes an interesting Rangers trade target because they could stash him on LTIR for one year, then never speak of it again, suddenly with an asset gained from the whole ordeal.
This is a huge long shot, but taking on bad contracts for assets would be a wise play for the Rangers. Weaponizing cap space is how teams accrue assets for nothing but money.
Vegas needs to re-sign Pavel Dorofeyev, and shedding Pietrangelo helps them stay under the summer cap–10% higher than the cap ceiling, so roughly $114 million–while re-signing Dorofeyev and addressing other team needs, like re-signing Rasmus Andersson.
Clayton Keller
This is beyond a long shot, since it would require many different variables all playing out at the same time. But if the Utah Mammoth want to add a huge name in a trade or free agency, they may be willing to part with their captain and first line winger, making him an interesting Rangers trade target. Keller has always been a favorite within the Rangers organization and played for Mike Sullivan in the Milan Olympics. At a reasonable salary of just over $7 million for the next two seasons, Keller could fill a huge need for the Rangers.
The concern is that Keller would likely require an absolutely massive package coming back. It’s tough to gauge what kind of package he would require, and that would certainly impact how attractive he is as a potential Rangers trade target. But if, for example, Auston Matthews wants out and Utah comes calling, they may need to be creative to make things work.