Report: Rangers Looking To Move High Up in The First Round

Following a blockbuster trade sending Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes earlier this afternoon, Jeff Gorton may have some more tricks up his sleeve as teams assemble for the draft. According to a recent report by Darren Dreger, there is a possibility that the Rangers are looking to move up again in the first round following their most recent move with Arizona.

At the moment the Rangers possess picks #7 and #21, so if they’re looking to move up into the top five, there is only so far they can go. There’s not a chance in hell either the New Jersey Devils or Philadelphia Flyers part with Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick to move down, especially to the Rangers. But past the top two, there are two teams that may make some sense if the Rangers are talking another trade.

Being that the Rangers are now need of a center, would the Rangers try to pry the #4 and someone like Matt Duchene from the Avalanche with their newly acquired assets? What about flipping #7 and #21 to Dallas in exchange for the third overall pick? This is just pure speculation at this point, but the Rangers certainly have enough irons in the fire to make tonight an interesting one.

In the event that the Rangers find a way to move up, Cale Makar seems like the most probable draft target for the Rangers. They’re in desperate need of young, right-handed defensemen and Makar fits the bill almost perfectly. We’re about three hours out from the first pick, so we’ll see if the Rangers decide to make any other moves up until then. Stay tuned.