Rangers have “serious interest” in Jake Guentzel

Per Vince Mercogliano, the Rangers have “serious interest” in Jake Guentzel. Of course this makes sense, as the Rangers need an offensively minded 1RW to hopefully get Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider going again. However, and this is a big one, the price is most likely going to be a non-starter.

Chris Drury isn’t willing to part with a 1st round pick or Kaapo Kakko, at least for Frank Vatrano. Guentzel is far better than Vatrano, so Drury may soften his stance on the 1st round pick, but not the “multiple young players” a Guentzel trade would require.

If we assume that Kakko isn’t getting moved, we can also assume the same for Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, and maybe Brett Berard. That leaves Zac Jones, Matthew Robertson, Bryce McConnell-Barker, and others as the primary trade bait. One, likely Robertson, will be moved in the pending Alex Wennberg trade.

Would Pittsburgh take Jones, a 1st, and Adam Sykora? Possibly. That is likely the highest Drury would go as well. Given the division impact, this seems like a pipe dream.