NHL Trade Rumors: Should the Rangers Still Be Interested in Bobby Ryan?

The New York Rangers and Bobby Ryan have been linked with rumors for weeks. It is hard to confirm that any formal offer was submitted and or rejected by Glen Sather or Bob Murray. The question remains, though, should the Rangers still be interested in Bobby Ryan?

The Rangers have the best record in the league, 26-9-4 and 56 points, and are playing amazing hockey. However, areas like the power-play could use a serious upgrade. That is where the appeal in adding a young 30-goal scorer in Ryan kicks in.

Ryan is only 24 years old, has hit the 30-goal plateau each of his first three seasons and is trending upward in overall offensive production. His team, the Anaheim Ducks, are the exact opposite. They may have one their last two games, but they were against the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, who both are severely struggling this season.

The team is off to a bad start and things are looking bleak even though the team had fired its only Stanley Cup-winning coach, Randy Caryle, earlier this season.

Fiery bench boss Bruce Boudreau was hired in his place, and no real progress has been made since that point. General Manager Bob Murray even went out and said the entire team sans Selanne and Koivu would be up for grabs to a potential bidder. With that in mind, could Ryan be headed to New York?

When the subject of trading for a top-six forward comes up at the deadline, Steve Zipay of Newsday suggests that Chris Kreider is worth the wait.

In a blog entry at Blue Notes, Zipay writes:

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Despite the Rangers' outstanding record, some fans are clamoring for a trade-deadline deal for a top-six forward such as Columbus' Rick Nash to solidify the offense. Any such move would be costly, not just in terms of salary, but by shipping out young regulars and draft picks, and might affect the chemistry of this developing team.

A better option is playing for Boston College: Top prospect Chris Kreider, who has been dominant in Hockey East and is leading the Eagles, the No. 3 team in the NCAA, in scoring with 14 goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

Kreider, a 6-3, 225-pound forward who has astonishing speed and international experience with the U.S. national team, was a first-round draft pick in 2009 who decided to return for his junior year last September. He has taken extra courses and could sign with the Rangers when his college season ends. The Boxford, Mass., native will be 21 in April, which means he could start in the AHL and possibly turn into an impact player next season.

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Zipay makes an interesting point with Kreider, but unfortunately the point makes little to no sense. Any trade talks have not included Rick Nash—or Kreider, for that matter. Zipay goes on to say that shipping out young regular and draft picks could mess up the chemistry of the team.

In the past the Rangers dealt both locker room and fan favorites in Petr Prucha, Jed Ortmeyer and Lauri Korpikoski. I don't think that trading a young player like Brandon Dubinsky, as it was rumored for Ryan, would disrupt chemistry.

This team has so many veteran leaders like Brad Richards, Mike Rupp, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi that the status quo could remain the same in the locker room. If one player leaving a locker room disrupts chemistry, then the Rangers have bigger problems that fixing their power-play.

Kreider is one player who poses a threat to Dubinsky's role on the second line. Kreider is a better skater and has more offensive upside than Dubinsky. If that is the case, any trade involving Dubinsky would unlikely disrupt chemistry. 

Glen Sather has been pretty upfront with his cards when it comes to a potential trade. He will not trade Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh or Chris Kreider.

The Rangers have a really good chance to win now and they should take it if the opportunity presents itself. It is hard to argue against trading for a player who already is everything you hope your top prospect will become.

The Rangers are playing their best hockey since 1993-94. It is hard to change a recipe that is making you very profitable in the win column. However, the '93-'94 Rangers did ship out Tony Amonte, Mike Gartner and Doug Weight in deadline deals, and they were severely criticized for it.

I expect the Rangers to make a minor trade or two before heading into the postseason. If the Rangers were to make a minor trade, I would expect it to be for someone like Tuomo Ruutu, who brings that extra physicality you need in a tight seven-game series.

As it goes for Ryan, he is a very talented player, but it all depends on the asking price. I am not saying I wouldn't love to see him in red, white and blue, but I don't want to mortgage the farm just to acquire him.

Could the Rangers pull another blockbuster deal like they did in '93-'94? I guess as the deadline approaches this is a situation to monitor.

Tom Urtz, Jr. is an NHL featured columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: