Rangers who must be retained during the redevelopment

You’ve probably heard it already, but the New York Rangers are restructuring their roster after another disastrous season under Chris Drury. This is the second year in a row that the Rangers have had an epic fall from grace, and while there are some good pieces, the overall core is outdated or rotten. Most need to go, but there are some Rangers that should be retained during the redevelopment. Don’t expect Drury to tell us, but we should be able to guess which Rangers should be kept as Drury.

Instead of trying to guess what’s going on in Drury’s head, which is virtually impossible, let’s use some logic to guess which Rangers should be kept. Suffice to say, our list of Rangers to keep will not be the same as Drury’s list of Rangers to keep.

Rangers who must be retained no matter what

Igor Shesterkin: Trading Igor Shesterkin would free up a ton of money for the Rangers, but it would also create a huge hole in the net that the Rangers would likely have to solve by forking over a ton of money. And assets in the position. Passage.

Adam Fox: Perhaps there is an angle for Fox to be traded thanks to Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan working for the same US team that left Fox off the Olympic roster, but the belief here is that Fox will want to stay. Trading a Norris-caliber defenseman was always going to be a foolish move.

Gabe Perreault: A retooling team should not trade their best prospect. That would be stupid.

Vlad Gavrikov: Gavrikov is a great fit in New York, just signed here and has a long-term contract that could be difficult to move. There’s no reason to trade him.

Rangers who should probably be retained

Alexis Lafreniere: This is not game-based decision. If so, Lafreniere would be traded tomorrow. The simple truth is that Lafreniere is worth more to the Rangers than anyone he could be traded for. At best, the Rangers could pry away a Shane Wright-type player, which would mean resetting their development on a young player who is failing to fulfill his potential. It is a waste of time and the organization cannot be trusted. Expect Lafreniere to stay, especially since the team has already ruined his career.

Will Borgen: There are upsides to trading Borgen, but the Rangers seem to like him, he has a great contract and he is having a great season. You’re not going to trade everyone on the roster.

Mika Zibanejad: Just like with Borgen, you’re not going to trade everyone on the roster. Mika would probably bring back a decent package with the way he’s been playing this season, but he wants to stay by all accounts, and Rangers should have that some talent on the list.

Players named Matt Rempe who cannot be traded because they are Matt Rempe

Matt Rempe: Matt Rempe.

Sometimes less is more, and identifying the Rangers to keep can be a fairly simple exercise. The only player on this list who could be traded today is Lafreniere, but even that isn’t a guarantee given how teams are trying to get the Rangers for him.