At the start…

Winners of 12 out of 15 games in January, New York’s stellar performance helped them to climb four spots to 6th-place in the East, just three points behind 3rd-place Boston. The Rangers capped the month with a 7-0 blowout of 1st-place Tampa Bay.

Updated Trading Block

D Jacob Trouba — $8.0M per year, 4 years left on contract. At 28, don’t see Trouba growing beyond current abilities. Trade value will decline each year. If Trouba is moved, Rangers have defenders in the system who could be called up to fill hole. We would be open to acquiring a Top 4 DEF with salary under $4.00M who has an expiring contract. Rangers can sign a free agent that fits the scheme in offseason. 

LW Chris Kreider — $6.50M salary, 5 years remaining on contract. 31 years old and has reached his potential. Expect a decline in talent. Dumping his salary could allow team to make better offers to K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox after season. Riley Smith can play LW or RW and can fill hole (currently, Smith is riding the bench making $4M).

RW Vitali Kravtsov — Kravtsov has Top 6 potential but looks more like a 3rd-line guy. In 79 games in the 21-22 season, he scored only 29 points (9 G, 20 A). In comparison, 31-year old Riley Smith racked 53 points in 82 games and scored 16 goals with 37 assists last season. Riley Smith can also fill in hole if Kravtsov is traded.

All the offers for each player based on who’s on the team’s trading blocks

What We Need…

An upgrade at backup goalie. Brayden Holtby has played better since the midseason report, but confidence is low that he can handle the starting job if Igor Shesterkin gets injured long term. A goalie with an expiring contract is preferred, then in offseason, can address the issue of the backup.

A Top 4 defenseman for the 3rd defensive line who would also be insurance in case either Adam Fox or K’Andre Miller decide to reject their qualifying offers and hold out for a season.

A second-round pick. We currently are without one and need one in order to draft a quality prospect who will be promoted to the NHL roster in two years.

February objective

Clear cap space to allow more flexibility in trade offers. Remember, FIND TRADE will result in trade offers that are “approved” and can be made instantly. Save the bigger trades for the Trade Deadline day.

Top players on the trading block from sellers

Arizona Coyotes – D Subban (87), D Yandle (92), D Gostisbehere (81)
Dallas Stars – D Klinberg (86), LW Benn (83), LW Palat (85)
Minnesota Wild – D Spurgeon (86), D Dumba (86), 
San Jose Sharks – D Burns (86), Karlsson (86)
Seattle Kraken – Four 2nd-Round picks

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 5

THU — (W) Rangers blanked at Seattle, 2-0

SAT — (OTL) Logan Couture didn’t waste time putting in the game-winner in overtime, scoring in just six seconds to give the San Jose Sharks a 4-3 victory over the Rangers at SAP Center. Evander Kane scored twice to raise his season total to 25 goals. New York goes winless in the week.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 12

Rangers begin week in 5th-place despite two losses last week. Busy schedule with 4 games on tap. 8th-place Flyer start one point behind. Artemi Panarin leads team with 55 points (ranked 14th).

SUN — (W) Filip Chytil scored in overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 road win against the Calgary Flames who failed to hold their 2-0 lead. The Rangers scored twice in the 3rd period behind K’Andre Miller and Chris Kreider goals. 

TUE — (W) Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves, and the Rangers won 3-1 over the Dallas Stars who scored first then surrendered three unanswered. Sammy Blais scored the go-ahead goal in the 2nd period. Kappo Kakko put in an empty-netter in the 3rd.

THU — (SOW) Ryan Strome ended several rounds of a shootout by beating John Gibson with a backhander, giving the Rangers a 4-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks. Strome also scored his 20th goal of the season to tie the game 3-3 midway through the 3rd period. Rangers moved into 4th-place in the East.

SAT — (L) The Winnipeg Jets won 3-1 to prevent the Rangers from sweeping all their opponents for the week. New York falls to 5th-place with 69 points, one point behind Boston, and 7 points ahead of 9th-place Senators.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 19

TUE — (W) Brayden Holtby made 19 saves, Kappo Kakko scored his 17th goal of the season, and the Rangers beat the Dallas Stars 5-3. 

THU — (W) Backup goalie Brayden Holtby turned in his best performance of the season, making 39 saves to help lead the Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals. It was the second straight victory for Holtby who the Rangers lost confidence in, but Hotlby seems to have heard the noise, improving to 9-7-1, 2.63 GAA. Artemi Panarin finally got back into the goal scoring column with his 24th, and Morgan Barron scored to lead off the 2nd period and gave the Rangers an important 2-0 lead.

FRI — (W) Igor Shesterkin (28-22-2, 2.65 GAA) stopped all 30 shots by the Arizona Coyotes to notch his 5th shutout of the season in the Rangers 1-0 win. Chris Kreider’s 2nd period goal was enough to earn New York their 75th point which moved the club into 3rd-place in the East.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 26

Third-place Rangers continue to rise in the standings. This week, they will make a move to clear some cap space in preparation for the Trade Deadline frenzy. Could it be Chris Kreider’s final week as a Ranger? 

Key game: Feb 28 – @ Carolina