On targeting the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks

Last month, the Chicago Blackhawks released their own statement to their fans, signaling a rebuild. Almost immediately, speculation among fans came as to who the NY Rangers might target to augment their roster. The familiar names came up: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, etc. But if the Rangers are wise, they will stay away.

The Timing Is Off

This is by far the most critical piece. The Rangers are not in a position to spend assets for a run. If they were, they would have taken advantage of the lower prices this offseason. The Blueshirts are looking to add young and in their prime assets, something Chicago won’t be getting rid of.

These kinds of rebuilds are great for teams needing a piece or two to make a run. The Rangers have too many question marks right now. Can Filip Chytil be a 2C? Is Adam Fox a legitimate 1RD? What of Brett Howden and Libor Hajek? Can Kaapo Kakko rebound in his sophomore season? Is Alexis Lafreniere a superstar in the making? How do they address the fourth line? What about the defense prospects?

The timing just isn’t right. The worst thing the Rangers can do is force it. They didn’t in the offseason, why do it now?

The Hawks Don’t Have Good Pieces

Unlike the Rangers over the past few seasons, the Blackhawks simply don’t have moveable pieces yet. Alex Debrincat, Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach, and Adam Boqvist aren’t going anywhere. So who does that leave?

Toews and Kane are attractive targets, but carry matching $10.5 million cap hits for the next three seasons. Plus they will cost a lot more than you’re willing to pay, even more at 50% retained. Duncan Keith is 37 years old. Brent Seabrook is bad. That leaves…Calvin de Haan? Mattias Janmark? Connor Murphy? They aren’t terrible options, but they aren’t what the Rangers need at the moment.

Maybe Alex Nylander as a reclamation project, but that’s about it.

No Cap Space

This is another big piece – unless the Rangers send salary back, they don’t have the cap space to make a trade right now. If they are possibly balking at $4.5 million for Ryan Strome, which is a fair price for him on a one year deal, then they are going to balk at everything Chicago has.

Perhaps next year, when the Rangers have cap space, is something to look for. But again we go back to above – the options just aren’t that great.

The Rangers were lucky enough to have skilled players on expiring deals. It helped them load up on draft picks and increase their options. With their rebuild, the Chicago Blackhawks don’t really have those players. It’ll be a tougher road for them. The Rangers should definitely be out on any rebuild type trades with the Hawks.