Final Update on Monday, March 9, 2026 @11:52p
NEW YORK RANGERS TRADE BAIT
The New York Rangers floated lots of names ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. In the end, they made five trades to start to replenish their prospect pool.
- Artemi Panarin, LW Traded 2-4-26
- Vincent Trocheck, C
- Braden Schneider, D
- Carson Soucy, D Traded 1-26-26
- Sam Carrick, C Traded 3-6-26
- Alexis Lafreniere, RW/LW
- Taylor Raddysh, LW/RW
- Conor Sheary, RW/LW
- Jonathan Quick, G
- Urho Vaakanainen, D
- Juuso Parssinen, C
- Jonny Brodzinski, C
- Brennan Othmann, LW Traded 3-6-26
- Derrick Pouliot, D Traded 3-6-26
NEW YORK RANGERS TRADE TRACKER
3-6-26
New York Rangers traded F Brennan Othmann to the Calgary Flames for F Jacob Battaglia. A change of scenery was needed for Othmann, 23, who failed to win Peter Laviolette or Mike Sullivan’s trust in 42 career NHL games. The 19-year-old Battaglia is playing for the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League. A season ago he had 90 points (40 goals, 50 assists) at right wing, but is now learning how to play center.
Grade: B+ Worst-case scenario, the Rangers made their prospect younger by swapping Othmann for Battaglia. Best-case? Battaglia makes a smooth transition to center and give the Rangers’ system more depth down the middle.
3-6-26
New York Rangers traded D Derrick Pouliot to the Chicago Blackhawks for C Aidan Thompson. The 32-year-old Pouliot is a veteran of 226 NHL games, but none since 2023-24. Thompson, 24, is a former third-round draft pick who was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2024-25 while playing for the University of Denver.
Grade: A Despite the Rangers struggles on defense this year, Pouliot remained buried in Hartford. Turning him into a legitimate prospect is an under-the-radar move by Drury.
3-6-26
New York Rangers traded Sam Carrick to the Buffalo Sabres for Buffalo’s 2026 third-round pick and the Chicago Blackhawks 2026 sixth-round pick. Carrick arrived in New York as a 32-year-old free agent acquisition with only 240 NHL games under his belt. But he earned the trust of two coaches — Peter Laviolette and Mike Sullivan — his teammates and fans. IF he had stayed, he would’ve been a favorite to win this year’s Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award.
Grade: A Turning a journeyman free agent, into two draft picks is a rare win for the Rangers’ beleaguered GM.
2-4-26
New York Rangers traded F Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings for RW Liam Greentree, a conditional 2026 third-round pick (upgrades to a second-round pick if LA wins one playoff round this spring), and a conditional 2028 fourth-round pick (conveys if LA wins two playoff rounds this spring). The Kings then extended Panarin for 2-years/$22m.
Grade: F
Panarin held all the cards, and Drury had no leverage. Based on that, an argument could be made that the Rangers did well to extract one of the Kings’ top prospects.
I reject that argument based on precedents set by the Rangers themselves.
- In 2014, St. Louis demanded a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He made it clear he did not want to play for GM Steve Yzerman anymore, and stated he would only play for the New York Rangers. Despite having zero leverage, Tampa was able to secure Ryan Callahan and two first-round picks from the Rangers for 38-year-old St. Louis, plus a second-round and seventh-round pick.
- In 2019, Trouba told Winnipeg he wanted to live in New York to accommodate his wife’s medical career. The Rangers jumped at the opportunity by sending Neal Pionk and a first-round pick to the Jets and signing Trouba to a 7-year/$56m extension.
- In 2023, Kane was struggling with Chicago due to a chronic hip condition. Heading into the trade deadline, he told the rebuilding Blackhawks that he would waive his no-trade clause if they sent him to Madison Square Garden.
To acquire Kane, the Rangers needed to accrue cap space, which they did by offloading Vitaly Kravtsov and purposely playing with a short bench for weeks. Plus, they sent a second-round draft pick to Arizona in exchange for the Coyotes to pay half of Kane’s remaining salary.
After all of these machinations — they still sent a second and a fourth rounder to Chicago to complete the deal. Kane played out the season, had hip surgery, and then signed with the Detroit Red Wings.
Kudos to the Kings for having the discipline that the Rangers have lacked under Glenn Sather, Jeff Gorton, John Davidson, and Drury.
1-26-26
New York Rangers traded D Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick. Soucy, who was acquired a year ago from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, will be a UFA on July 1.
Grade: B
No harm, no foul as GM Chris Drury gets back a third-round pick for the veteran defenseman.
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