Things haven’t quite gone as planned for the Rangers this season.
After falling just a few games shy of a Stanley Cup Finals appearance last year, GM Chris Drury opted to give this core one more shot to put it all together -- and unfortunately it hasn’t quite worked as planned.
New York’s stars have underperformed mightily, and as a result, they’ve found themselves on the outside looking in at a very crowded Eastern Conference Wild Card race for the majority of the year.
They’ve been playing better hockey of late and have been able to make up some ground thanks to the arrival of J.T. Miller in a blockbuster deal with the Canucks, but they still have a ways to go.
Drury could look to add some pieces to this club ahead of next month’s deadline, but he should only do so with an eye towards the future and the majority of the impending free agents should be shipped out of town to retain assets.
If ends up being the case, here are five players to keep an eye on…
D Ryan Lindgren
Lindgren is a fan favorite for his all-out style of play, but a separation has felt inevitable ever since he and the organization failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension over the offseason.
New York instead opted to settle on a one-year pact, which would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.
Lindgren has made it clear that this is where he wants to be moving forward, but the fact that the front office was willing to dish out a five-year extension to Will Borgen after just a couple of games may be evidence they are ready to move on.
The 26-year-old has been able to stay healthy after missing the first five games of the year with an upper-body injury, but his production has remained inconsistent on both ends of the ice despite remaining alongside star defenseman Adam Fox.
A trade may even make New York stronger on the backend.
LW Chris Kreider
Kreider is currently the longest-tenured Ranger, but could he be on the way out next?
Him and former captain Jacob Trouba were among the players made available for trade in the memo Drury sent out to teams just a few months ago -- Trouba, of course, was shipped out of town in a deal with the Ducks.
Kreider hasn’t done much to help his cause since then, as he came out publicly shortly after and disclosed that he’s been dealing with back issues and he’s producing some of the worst numbers of his career.
The 33-year-old has 16 goals (five power-play) and 20 assists through 47 games.
He does have a 15-team no-trade list which will limit his suitors a bit, and his $6.5 million cap hit would likely be tough for any team to squeeze in midseason, but you never know what could happen this time of year.