The trade deadline is a fun time of the year. Fan GMs around the world unite and create their ideal trades to help their favorite teams. This is all in good fun, and the proposals generally range from the downright ridiculous to the fair and reasonable. However, these are not rumors. The rumors are the ones generally started by a blog or a mainstream media outlet who has an “inside source”. It’s very tough to decipher what is an actual rumor and what is something that is being made up to fit the needs of one team.

For example, let’s take this Michael Del Zotto for Chris Phillips swap. This makes no sense at all. This is not a rumor, it’s someone who is saying the Rangers need a defenseman, and the Senators are selling, so clearly this makes “sense”. The Rangers have shown they aren’t going to deal core youth, and Phillips doesn’t fit the powerplay QB need. In essence, this was a rumor made to get hits. It makes no logical sense for the Rangers to make this deal, so let’s all breathe a little easier now.

Another fun rumor is the Marian Gaborik to Minnesota for Cam Barker, Antii Miettinen and a conditional second round pick. This one makes less sense than the first one. The Rangers have no need for Barker or Miettinen, and there’s no trading Gaborik unless a first round pick is included at the bare minimum. The Rangers aren’t trading their best skater for a collection of bottom-six/bottom-pairing players. If a deal is going to be struck, using the hypothetical LA Kings scenario, the discussions begin and end with Brayden Schenn. Since that won’t happen, Gaborik won’t go to LA.

These are rumors that, when you take a step back and really look at the details, make no sense. A deal that would make sense for the Rangers would be something involving their spare second round pick, a mid-level prospect, or a spare part on the roster (read more on that here). For the Rangers, their glaring need is a veteran defenseman who plays the powerplay. They might need a top-six forward, but that is less of a need than the defenseman. The Rangers aren’t going to mortgage the future for a rental, so let’s do ourselves a favor and take a deep breath before reacting to rumors.

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