NHL Trade Rumors: Are The Rangers Players At The NHL Trading Deadline?
Will the New York Rangers be players on April 3rd?
The NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and teams are already starting to make some big moves. The Pittsburgh Penguins swung two huge deals, bringing in Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray as they gear up for a playoff push.
Like it or not, the Penguins just dictated the trade market. Things are tight as it is. Almost every single general manager came back from the Board of Governors meeting saying the same thing "I don't know what we're going to do, the prices are sky high."
Well, Pittsburgh got a jump on things and now that's set the tone. Teams might start rushing to get their players before the trade deadline -- where the prices will most likely be much higher than they would be today or tomorrow. Fact of the matter is, most general managers don't know what they are. So many different teams are on the playoff bubble in both conferences that there aren't clean-cut buyers or sellers.
That helps dictate the market, too. And it's one of the primary reasons why the prices for players are so high.
Will the New York Rangers try to move Marian Gaborik? I doubt it. I'm not saying he's not available, I'm just saying I doubt anyone pays what the Rangers are going to want for him at the deadline. There's too many moving parts, too many teams that don't know what they are.
Which is why I think the Rangers might be content at the deadline. They brought in Roman Hamrlik on waivers, they just signed Mats Zuccarello, maybe that's enough.
Who knows what the Rangers are right now. Are they a playoff team? My guess is still yes. Are they a Stanley Cup contending team? If Gaborik and Brad Richards go back to last year's versions then yes. If not, then no. Are you willing to trade picks and prospects for some rental players that might be gone at the end of the season for nothing?
So maybe Zuccarello is enough. Maybe Hamrlik was enough. Maybe Marc Staal comes back to round things out.
Or maybe the Rangers make a move. My guess? The Rangers have never been a panic team. I don't think they'll start now. I don't doubt the team wants to believe they're true contenders, however, so a trade might be coming. Then again, it might not be.
Are the Rangers content right now? Maybe. Maybe not.
Thoughts?