NHL Trade Deadline: 5 deals the New York Rangers should make

1. Ryan McDonagh to Boston

This is where it gets fascinating for the Rangers with Ryan McDonagh, the big kahuna trade bait. In 49 games this season, McDonagh has two goals and 24 assists for 26 points, but don’t let the numbers fool you, McDonagh is a bona fide number one defenseman and worth every penny. McDonagh can log first line minutes on any team, and brings one of the best two-way games in all of NHL.

This has been a “down year” for McDonagh, but he played injured throughout the season, he has been dragged down by struggling defensive partners. McDonagh’s cap hit is $4,700,000 for the rest of this season and he could be the final piece for any contending teams willing to shell out for him. Nabbing McDonagh at the deadline will have a hefty cost the buyer needs to be absolutely dead set on an all in run at winning the Stanley Cup this year or next.

Whether the Rangers will trade McDonagh at the deadline this year or in the offseason will be found out in mere days, but the Rangers should actively be looking to deal McDonagh right now simply because the Rangers hold all the cards when it comes to trading him. If a team wants him now for the playoffs, the Rangers can negotiate with the possibility of keeping McDonagh to raise the price and not risk losing him for nothing as you would with a rental.

Next: 5 players the Maple Leafs should target at the trade deadline

The price teams will pay for a top pairing defenseman for not just this year’s playoffs, but the entirety of next season will greatly benefit and accelerate the Rangers rebuild process. However, the high price could be the reason why McDonagh won’t move at the deadline at all, especially if other teams are wary of his drop off in production enough to feel that mortgaging a significant portion of their future will not be worth the risk.

Boston is the ideal trade partner for McDonagh, but it’s a toss-up between all three of the contending Atlantic teams including Tampa Bay and Toronto. Tampa has been heavily pursuing Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson while Toronto needs a right-handed defenseman for their playoff run and McDonagh is a lefty. Another team could swoop in at the last second, but Boston is the only remaining team rumored to be after McDonagh and in a reasonable position to get him. Matt Grzelcyk has done a fine job as a call-up for the Bruins, but adding McDonagh as the final piece of the puzzle could be what pushes the Bruins into becoming Cup favorites going into the playoffs.