Frank Seravalli, who has established himself as a time traveling insider this year, has noted that the Rangers are going to be very active and a team to watch. We’ve known for a while that the Rangers are going to make some moves, and Seravalli specifically notes that Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich, and Alex Georgiev may be on their way out. Strome and Seattle have been linked, but it doesn’t appear that a framework around Mark Giordano was doable.
Rumors abound
On Buchnevich, apparently Chris Drury has been trying to move him for weeks. This doesn’t surprise me. However the Rangers are a worse team on the ice by trading him. He’s a bonafide top-six winger, and a win-now team needs as much skill as they can get. It seems that moving Buchnevich is less of a maybe and more of a foregone conclusion. There is clearly a plan here, and Drury has identified Buchnevich as the key piece to execute that plan. The question is, what is that plan?
As for Georgiev, there were rumblings that the Rangers want a first round pick. He seems very likely to get traded, but likely won’t fetch that return. The ask seems to be part of a plan to get into the top-ten in the draft to help woo the Sabres for Eichel.
Strome, Buchnevich, and Georgiev are all connected in terms of the dominos that need to fall for Drury to execute his plan. If that means Eichel, then we’d expect some news on his medical records. I don’t expect the Rangers to move Strome if Eichel or another center is not coming. As for Buchnevich, that seems to be a when, and not an if.
There’s a plan
All of this, to me, means that Drury is being very aggressive in targeting very specific types of players. As Suit pointed out this morning, there is a glut of skill in the lineup. As Rob pointed out yesterday, lineups need balance. Barclay Goodrow was one of those balance pieces to bring in some grit. Albeit some expensive grit, but that’s not worth crying over at this point.
There is a lot of concern regarding trading Buchnevich –and Strome– because the Rangers are instantly worse without them. However that doesn’t factor in the return for both and whatever steps Drury is making to round out the lineup. If both get replaced by Eichel, then the Rangers are probably banking on Vitali Kravtsov and Filip Chytil to fill in the gaps, assuming they aren’t included in an Eichel trade.
The concern, and to be honest it’s well deserved concern, is that there is almost no idea what the Rangers are trying to do. Even around the league, it seems no one has any idea of what Drury is up to. He’s a new GM, the old regime was kicked to the curb in a very surprising move, and the Rangers are dealing from major positions of strength. Skill is valuable, and the Rangers have a ton of it. The major question I have, and perhaps I’m just biased because I really like him, is how does moving a top line winger make the Rangers better in their win-now approach?
I’m sure we will get the answer soon enough. The Rangers are, indeed, a team to watch. For better or for worse.
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