5 Potential Landing Spots for The Rangers' Brennan Othmann Amid NHL Trade Rumors
Even though the 2025-26 NHL season just started, it's not too early for trade speculation to start picking up. On Thursday, NHL insider Eliotte Friedman got things rolling by reporting that New York Rangers forward Brennan Othmann's name has been drawing trade interest around the league after he was sent down to the American Hockey League at the start of the season.
Othmann did not make the NHL roster out of training camp and is the latest young Rangers forward who has not really developed as expected with the team.
He arrived as a first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft and came with big upside and potential. However, injuries and inconsistent transition from junior hockey to the pro game have led to him being leapfrogged by several other young players in the Rangers organization.
It's another situation where a fresh start for the player not only seems plausible but also likely.
So let's take a quick look at a handful of teams around the league that could -- or should -- have some interest in the 22-year-old forward and make a few suggestions that might make sense for both teams.
Vancouver Canucks
1 of 5
The Canucks needed some forward depth to begin with, and that necessity has only increased with the absence of Nils Hoglander.
What makes it complicated for the Canucks is that they do not have much salary cap space to work with or any real trade assets to deal from. They need to find someone who is affordable and won't significantly increase the cost of the package.
A struggling prospect that needs a change of scenery might be the perfect type of target in that sense.
Othmann has played 25 games in the NHL and has yet to score a goal, tallying only two points, so it's not like he would be an instant cure-all or immediate fix, but the talent and potential upside are still there.
It might be worth it for the Canucks to make a call and see if they can get something out of him, especially since the Canucks and Rangers have a recent track record of making deals.
Toronto Maple Leafs
2 of 5
The Rangers have a young forward in Othmann who might need a change of scenery.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a more established forward in Nicholas Robertson, who has been the subject of trade rumors for what seems like an eternity.
Why not just bring both teams together and let them flip their fresh start candidates for each other?
Robertson would give the Rangers some more immediate help offensively, while Othmann would get a fresh start in Toronto and give the Maple Leafs some much-needed wiggle room under the salary cap by shedding Robertson's $1.85 million salary for the season.
The Rangers are desperate for more goal-scoring and finishing ability in the lower half of their lineup, and with 32 goals in his past 130 games (a 20-goal pace per 82 games) going back to the start of the 2023-24 season, Robertson would certainly give them more immediate help than Othmann has.
The Rangers would probably have to add something else to sweeten the deal, but it could be something both teams could benefit from.
Chicago Blackhawks
3 of 5
The Blackhawks have their own young, promising forward, Lukas Reichel, who has not exactly panned out as hoped and is now on the trade block.
A lot of times, when you're talking about dealing players like Reichel or Othmann, they end up getting swapped for one another because it's really the only type of moves that make sense.
You're not going to be able to trade them for a premium return or include them as a key piece to a larger trade because they simply do not have enough value to be dealt that way.
Trading them for a draft pick also feels like a loss because, in Othmann's case, you don't want to turn a recent first-round pick into a mid-round pick. After all, it will feel like a failure on everybody's part. You're clearly taking a step backwards.
Sometimes, the best bet is to just hope you catch lightning in a bottle with a similar player who also needs a fresh start.
Both Reichel and Othmann could use that. Both teams could probably use it.
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
Pittsburgh Penguins
4 of 5
Maybe the Penguins and Rangers do not want to swap players that still have untapped upside within the same division due to the chance one of them figures it out with their new team, but there could be a potential match here.
The Penguins are very much in a rebuild and should probably take a flier on any young-ish player with upside they can find.
They also have the defense version of Othmann in Owen Pickering.
Pickering was a first-round pick by the Penguins in the 2022 draft and figured to be a big part of their future defense, but he has not really consistently impressed yet. What was especially concerning for him this season was that, despite seeming to have a clear path to the roster, he failed to make a sufficient impression.
Not only were the Penguins looking to go younger this season, but their left side of their defense features Parker Wotherspoon, Caleb Jones, and Ryan Shea on most nights. The fact that Pickering could not earn a spot over that trio is a testament to how far he's slipped as a prospect.
That's pretty much exactly the situation the Rangers and Othmann find themselves in.
The Penguins could use another young forward. The Rangers could use another young defenseman to take a flier on. Both players might need a fresh start.
Boston Bruins
5 of 5
Othmann and Fabian Lysell were selected five picks apart in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and both have experienced a very similar trajectory with their current teams.
It just hasn't worked out for either player in terms of getting a consistent role or consistent playing time in the NHL, while their development seems to have stalled. It's another "change-of-scenery" for "change of-scenery" type of trade. And in this case, it is that in its most literal sense, given the draft status, experience level, development status, and production level of both players.
Lysell is the Bruins' version of Othmann.
Othmann is the Rangers' version of Othmann.
Both players still have talent and upside, but it just does not seem likely they are going to become the player either team wanted in their current situation.
Give them both a clean slate with a new staff and a new organization, and see what happens.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
