With two months left until the Olympics frozen, can Chris Drury thread the needle?

The trade deadline may be in March, but with the Olympics just around the corner in February, there will be another deadline before the roster freeze takes effect, just like it did last year before the Four Nations Tournament. That date is around February 6, when the NHL season pauses, even if it is not explicitly mentioned. That date essentially served as the primary deadline last year when the big moves were made, and the big question for the Rangers now is whether Chris Drury can continue the thread at that deadline to improve the Rangers’ present and future.

This February “soft deadline” is when we saw the Rangers trade for JT Miller and Carolina trade for Mikko Rantanen. There will still be moves to be made when the NHL returns to action and before the March 6 trade deadline, but if Drury follows through and addresses most of the Rangers’ needs, he will have to take advantage of this soft deadline as well.

The Rangers have a lot of needs

The good news is that the Rangers already have some key pieces in place. They have a top-three coach in the NHL, a top-three goalie, a top-three defenseman and an elite top defense pairing. These pieces are very difficult to find, so the Rangers already have an advantage. These are also the reasons why the Rangers won’t call it off completely, but I digress.

The Rangers’ needs are pretty clear, as we’ve talked about them a lot as this season has gone sideways quite quickly. The Rangers need, in no particular order:

1. A puck moves to the left defenseman
2. Top-six scoring
3. Youth and speed
4. Hood relief

It may seem like only four needs, but only one is very specific. Getting younger, faster and cheaper while tackling top-six scoring is a very difficult ask that requires Drury to find a trade partner who values ​​players on the Rangers roster, specifically Artemi Panarin, Brennan Othmann and perhaps Braden Schneider. Panarin and Schneider have the most trade value, but it’s about how Drury moves the needle, not their trade value.

Can Drury thread the needle?

If Drury plugs in, he can meet most of these needs with a small number of roster moves and trades. The big question is who will be made available for Panarin, still an elite-level winger, if he is out of contract and on an extension. Both impact his value and other teams’ willingness to take a young NHL player with a top-six ceiling.

Schneider, on the other hand, has tremendous value in the league as a big, physical, 24-year-old right-handed defenseman. Schneider’s future with the Rangers is in doubt as he has not surpassed Will Borgen for the No. 2 spot, making his next contract a luxury the Rangers cannot afford if they want to address their scoring woes. Schneider’s contract expectations are about 4 to 5 years and $4.5 to $5 million, whatever it is. That’s an awful lot for a third-pair defender. Trading Schneider will likely age the Rangers, so this is a tough decision.

Drury also needs to make room for Gabe Perreault to remain in the top six and ensure Brett Berard remains on the third line. Jackson Dorrington looks like he could be the best part of the JT Miller trade too. He and Sullivan also need to make a quick decision on Scott Morrow. But of all these guys, only Perreault is the ‘can’t miss’ prospect who should be considered untouchable. No one else has that elite potential, and as Brandon said earlier this week, these types of prospects shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for a player Drury helps thread the needle.

Can Drury thread the needle? It will depend on who actually becomes available. Drury wants to get back to cup contention quickly, but it takes two to tango. JT Miller fell into their lap and isn’t working out the way they hoped. Drury and Sully know this, but Miller is the type of player who has been made available since he’s over 30 years old. The Rangers need to get younger, not more 30+ year old veterans.

I wonder at what point the question shifts from “Can Drury thread the needle?” to “How long will the redesign take?”