On Top 25 players that could be traded …
TSN: Top 25 trade bait board.
- Evander Kane – Buffalo Sabres – left wing – UFA
2. Patrick Maroon – Edmonton Oilers – left wing – UFA
3. Mike Green – Detroit Red Wings – right defense – UFA
4. Mike Hoffman – Ottawa Senators – left wing – two years left
5. Max Pacioretty – Montreal Canadiens – left wing – one year left
6. Thomas Vanek – Vancouver Canucks – left wing – UFA
7. Alex Galchenyuk – Montreal Canadiens – left wing – two years left
8. Erik Gudbranson – Vancouver Canucks – right defense – UFA
9. Zack Smith – Ottawa Senators – left wing – three years left
10. James Neal – Vegas Golden Knights – left wing – UFA
11. Michael Grabner – New York Rangers – left wing – UFA
12. Ian Cole – Pittsburgh Penguins – left defense – UFA
13. David Perron – Vegas Golden Knights – right wing – UFA
14. Andrew Shaw – Montreal Canadiens – center/right wing – 4 years
15. Rick Nash – New York Rangers – left wing – UFA
16. Aaron Dell – San Jose Sharks – goaltender – UFA
17. Mark Letestu – Edmonton Oilers – Center – UFA
18. Robin Lehner – Buffalo Sabres – goaltender – RFA
19. Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Ottawa Senators – center – two years
20. Jack Johnson – Columbus Blue Jackets – left defense – UFA
21. Nick Holden – New York Rangers – left defense – UFA
22. Petr Mrazek – Detroit Red Wings – goaltender – RFA
23. Cody Franson – Chicago Blackhawks – right defense – UFA
24. Dion Phaneuf – Ottawa Senators – left defense – three years
25. Tyson Barrie – Colorado Avalanche – right defense – two years
On the New York Rangers …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Elliotte Friedman was on the NHL Network and was asked if the New York Rangers could make defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward Mats Zuccarello available.
“Yeah, I think they’re going to listen,” indicated Friedman. “I think the Rangers look at it big picture. And that is that yes, as we sit here and tape they’re one point out of a playoff berth and Henrik Lundqvist is having a Vezina-caliber season – but do they really believe they’re good enough to win, or do they think they should start looking at some other things.
“They made a trade last year at the draft with Derek Stepan where it got them futures. I think with players like McDonagh and Zuccarello, they will at least listen. No guarantees, but I think they’ve let it be known that if you want to talk to us about these players and you’re serious, we will listen.”
adds that pending UFAs Rick Nash, Josh Holden, Michael Grabner and David Desharnais are definitely available.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Bob McKenzie was on NBCSN and said that the Rangers are not committed to trade McDonagh.
“But if you look at what the New York Rangers did last year – the trading of Derek Stepan, the buying out of Dan Girardi – they are reloading. They don’t want to call it a rebuild because New York never wants to call it a rebuild. But I would say that they are doing their due diligence just in the event that they may be a position if the team falls right out of it, if they get an unbelievable offer on a guy like McDonagh.
“I think they’ll do that with all of their players. They’ll do it with Mats Zuccarello, who’s got a year left on his deal. They’ll do it with the pending unrestricted free agents as well, Michael Grabner and Rick Nash.
“That doesn’t mean they’re committed to trading those players, but it means that they want to gauge now what the market is for those guys and what they might get back.”
