With less than a month to go before the NHL Trade Deadline, the New York Rangers are expected to be active on the trade market over the next few weeks. With the injury to Blake Wheeler and him now being out for the rest of the season, they may need to start making moves sooner rather than later. While there are some big names available on the trade block this year, it’s not always the big names that make the most impact on their new team. Sometimes, it’s the players who get traded for a late-round pick that make the most of their new opportunity. For the Rangers, there are some under-the-radar names that they could consider bringing in, and it wouldn’t cost them much to acquire them. Here are three potential names they could go after, and while they might not be the biggest names, they could very well be the players that fit what the Rangers are looking to add.
Mathieu Joseph
The Ottawa Senators were thought by many to be a team that would take a big step forward going into this season. However, it has been the complete opposite. As of this writing, they are second to last in the Eastern Conference. This will make them sellers yet again, and they have some interesting names that could be available. Most of the chatter has been around Vladimir Tarasenko and where he might end up, but one player that could be a sneaky pick-up is Mathieu Joseph. He was picked by Ottawa when they traded Nick Paul to Tampa Bay in 2022, and he has played well for the Senators. This season, he has scored eight goals and 24 points in 40 games. He has two more years on his contract after this season, making $2.950 million per season.
He would bring some much-needed speed and scoring to a Rangers’ bottom six that has struggled to create offense for much of the season. He is also a tough player to go against and isn’t afraid to get to the dirty areas to make plays happen. He will also get in the opponent’s face if he needs to. He has Stanley Cup experience, as he was on the Lighting when they won their two back-to-back Cups. He would be the perfect bottom-six player, and if he needed to, he has the skills to play in a top-six role. His contract also isn’t too expensive, and the Rangers wouldn’t have a problem fitting him in for this season, as it would also allow them to go out and make more moves if they needed to.
Andrew Mangiapane
The Calgary Flames are entering a retooling stage, and it started when they traded Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames have other pending unrestricted free agents like Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanner, but the Rangers need help up front. One player that could be an interesting target is Andrew Mangiapane. He is a former 35-goal scorer, and while he hasn’t been able to get back there, he is still capable of putting up a 20 to 25-goal season. He currently has 10 goals and 29 points in 53 games played. One issue might be his contract, as he makes $5.8 million for this season and next. The Rangers would need to send salary back in a potential deal or have the Flames retain part of his contract, which would cost them more assets.
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If a trade were to be made, he would likely get the chance to be the Ranger’s top-line right wing and would play with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Playing with those two players might just be what he needs to find his goal-scoring touch again, as Zibanejad is an elite passer and could find an open player with many of his passes. He would bring more speed to that line than what Wheeler or even Kaapo Kakko was bringing to that top line. He is also signed through next season, so he wouldn’t be just a rental option, and if it didn’t work out, the Rangers could flip him for another player or another asset. He has a modified no-trade clause in his deal and submits an eight-team no-trade list, so it would be up to him whether or not he wants to be traded to the Rangers.
Anthony Beauvillier
The Chicago Blackhawks are at the bottom of the standings and will have plenty of trade options to look at as the deadline gets closer. One player who will likely be available is Anthony Beauvillier. He is different from the other two players on this list because he is currently out with an injury and is the only one who is an unrestricted free agent after this season. He was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Canucks earlier this season and had two goals and six points in 15 games played with the Blackhawks before his injury. He currently makes $4.150 million on his deal, and while that may seem like a lot, the Blackhawks would likely retain half of his deal because they still need to reach the cap floor.
He would be an interesting option for the Rangers because, like Joseph, he would be a great addition to the bottom six and could also play in a top-six role if he needed to. He has also been a playoff performer throughout his career when he has with the New York Islanders. He has 29 points in 49 playoff games played, with 14 and 13 points coming in the back-to-back seasons when the Islanders made it to the Eastern Conference Final. While it is currently unknown when he will return from his injury, he will likely be moved by the Blackhawks if a team is interested in him, and the Rangers should take a look and see what it would cost to trade for him.
While the Rangers do need to go out and get a top-line right winger, they may also need to trade for some depth options because injuries can occur at any time. With these players, they would provide much-needed depth on the wings and could play in higher roles if they need to because they have the experience playing in those roles. The Rangers could go big-name hunting, but as last year showed, the big names don’t always get the job done. They need to bring in-depth options, and these are just three names who could be good fits for the Rangers.