Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has informed teams he is willing to "gauge the market" on the Ducks' pending free agents ahead of the March 21 trade deadline, reports Elliotte Friedman of TSN.

Winger Rickard Rakell is among the Ducks who are set for free agency after the season, and Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported last week that the Rangers had shown "increased interest" in trading for him.

According to The Athletic, it could take a first-round pick to acquire Rakell.

Rakell, 28, is earning $3.8 million this season (with a nearly identical cap hit), and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The above should make Rakell a lot less costly to acquire than someone like Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller, who still has a year of team control remaining beyond this season.

Rakell has 16 goals and 12 assists in 48 games this season for the Ducks, who are three points back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Adding Rakell or a similar player would help the Rangers add some scoring to a third line that has struggled to get much going offensively.

Rakell is not the player he was when he had back-to-back 30-plus goal seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, but he is on pace to score the most goals he had since tallying 18 during the 2018-19 season. And he would be a serious offensive upgrade over current wingers like Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier, and Ryan Reaves.

Popular in the Community