On the NY Rangers scouting the Canucks: Boeser? Schenn? Likely nothing?

A little over a week ago, it was noted by Jeff Paterson that the Rangers were one of the teams scouting the Vancouver Canucks at their game against the Minnesota Wild. The Rangers scouting the Canucks could have simply been standard due diligence, but given Brock Boeser was given permission to seek a trade, many assumed that the Rangers were scouting him. It could be more than that, or it could be nothing at all.

Rangers scouting the Canucks likely normal scouting

Teams scout everyone all the time. It’s their jobs. They travel, they scout, and they provide their opinions to the front office team should the need arise. Their jobs are to be up to date with most players in the NHL, and this is part of what they do.

We see reports like this regularly, but they get more traction as the trade deadline approaches. Given the news about the Canucks, their relatively inept history with trades, the prior connections with JT Miller, and the clear roster holes the Rangers have, it was easy to draw conclusions.

In all likelihood, this was a nothing burger. Teams scout each other all the time, and while it’s not necessarily rare to hear about it, we definitely don’t hear about most of these scouting trips. The ones that hit the news waves usually lead to minimal moves, if anything at all.

But what if?

But what if the Rangers scouting the Canucks was actually something real? Naturally, the thought process goes straight to Boeser. He’s a perceived need on the Rangers at RW, is just 25 years old, and isn’t a rental with two years after this remaining on his contract. It’s easy to make that connection.

However, this may be a similar situation to the Rangers scouting the Flyers last season. The assumption was they were scouting Claude Giroux. It turned out the Rangers were scouting Justin Braun, not Giroux. Giroux was a known entity and likely didn’t need much scouting. Braun, who required a bit more research to see if he was a good fit for the Rangers, eventually wound up with the Blueshirts.

So with the Rangers scouting the Canucks, it’s unlikely they are scouting Boeser intently, since he too is a relatively known entity around the year. It could be possible the Rangers were scouting one of Luke Schenn or Kyle Burroughs, both would “fit the need” for another defenseman on the third pair. Both are low event players, which would fit what Gerard Gallant appears to prefer on his bottom pair.

A defenseman is likely one of the more immediate needs, with Libor Hajek serving as the 6D and Ben Harpur as the 7D right now. The Rangers can afford to wait on a winger, but a defenseman to round out the blue line may turn into a priority sooner rather than later.

Both Schenn and Burroughs would be pure rentals with a cheap acquisition cost, most likely a mid round pick. It also tracks with what we’ve seen from Chris Drury, preferring not to give up major assets for pure rentals. There is a need to bank cap space, so we still may not see a trade for a while. What will add more smoke to this is if we see the Rangers scouting the Canucks more in the coming weeks and months.

Naturally, there will be more to come, and more rumors of the Rangers scouting other teams as well. The two clear needs have been identified and the Rangers have made moves to bank cap space. Expect a lot more little tidbits like this until the trade deadline.