With the recent trade activity, the market is now set

Last night the Flames traded once promising offensive d-man, Jay Bouwmeester, to St. Louis for a first round pick, as well as AHLer Mark Cundari and Swiss goalie Reto Berra. Just this past week the Flames traded Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a first round pick and college prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski. Pittsburgh also acquired Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for their second round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and a conditional 2014 draft choice.

The Buffalo Sabres were also active trading stay-at-home d-man Robyn Regehr to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for two 2nd round draft picks. Earlier, they moved Jordan Leopold for a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round selection.

As the Rangers look to the trade market to shore up some of their roster holes, the market appears to be set with 1st round picks being the key piece in acquiring mid-tier offensive talent and 2nd round picks netting mid-tier defensive d-men. With the Rangers lacking a 1st rounder this year and their apparent reluctance to move young players, one begins to wonder what kind of moves they have in store, if any.

None of the players that were traded would be considered truly elite talent anymore. All have had their successes sure, but 1st and 2nd round picks for guys who have mostly peaked is a tall order for this franchise.

At this point, Gaborik probably isn’t going anywhere unless we can get some NHL ready depth.  With Chris Kreider unable to grab the bull by the horns and the Rangers still in a dog fight for the 8th seed, you’re not likely going to get the kind of value a player like Gaborik would normally command. As Dave recently said, moving Gabby is likely a trade made during the offseason.

If Gaborik is off the block, then the Rangers don’t really have much to trade. This team is thin on defense, not likely to move young players and we lack a 1st round pick, which seems to be this trade deadline’s centerpiece. If the Rangers are to trade Gabby, depth has to come this direction.

The moves I could see Sather/Gorton making at this point are trading players like Brian Boyle or Pyatt to shore up their defense. Perhaps they’ll look to upgrade their bottom 6 with a little more speed and hustle as well. However, the hope of landing Martin St. Louis or a Dan Boyle are probably moves that won’t be fully explored until the offseason.

As for Clowe, although he’d fit the Rangers team concept, having Philly, Toronto, and Boston in the mix, will likely keep the price for his services high. Though there is no way Philly will trade Sean Couturier for Clowe (Garrioch made that one up).

If the Rangers stand pat at the deadline, I won’t be disappointed. After all, in 2011 we all said our window for winning would just be opening in 2013.