The New York Rangers offseason will be an important one, especially as fans wait to see the vision of Chris Drury's retool. The team has the No. 5 pick at their disposal, with a chance to draft either a top forward or top defenseman prospect. But when it comes to acquiring a superstar, the odds were incredibly slim, since the free agent market dried up before this past season even started.
It's been known that Drury wants to accelerate the rebuild by trying to bring in a top star, but that would only be if one were to request a team to be traded. One chance the Rangers had was if Auston Matthews were to request off the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let's not forget that they have a new front office with general manager John Chayka and senior executive adviser Mats Sundin.The buzz was that Matthews would want to see what the vision of the team is before committing.
The Athletic NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported on Wednesday that all indications are that Matthews is staying in Toronto this upcoming season, barring a drastic change. So, the Rangers fans' dream of landing Matthews will have to wait another year.
Auston Matthews reportedly staying put with Maple Leafs
"Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, hasn’t formally indicated that to the Leafs, but that’s where it’s very much trending from what I understand," writes LeBrun. "When the season ended, there was no GM in Toronto. There were so many unknowns, and it was natural for Matthews to have questions. There still are unknowns as far as what the roster will look like next season, but the conversations between Moldaver and new Leafs GM John Chayka have been cordial, and there’s some level of comfort there about how things are shaping up.
"So, unless something dramatic happens in the coming weeks, the Leafs captain will be back next season in Toronto."
Again, the Rangers' only way to land a superstar was that one would not only want off of their current team, but to also request a trade to New York. That is what the Rangers would have to hope for. This offseason, it doesn't appear to be the case.
Dylan Larkin requested a trade off the Detroit Red Wings last week, and it immediately alerted Rangers fans. Perhaps they could acquire Larkin. However, the Rangers have not made it onto Larkin's initial wishlist, which only contained the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild. While LeBrun reports that Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told Larkin's agent, Pat Brisson, to expand the trade list. It's unknown if the Rangers would make the cut, considering their positioning in the Eastern Conference and the lack of quality, tradable assets.
Matthews would be the ideal star that Drury and the Rangers would try to bring in. He does fill a position of need at center, can play stellar offensively and defensively, and he has Team USA ties with Drury, head coach Mike Sullivan, and center J.T. Miller.
Things seemed to be trending towards the Maple Leafs heading towards a disastrous offseason. They missed out on the playoffs and the hiring of Chayka had been ridiculed throughout NHL media, considering his disastrous tenure with the Arizona Coyotes. But then, the Leafs won the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft Lottery, with the expectation that they will use it on top prospect, Penn State winger Gavin McKenna. As of this writing, the Leafs are still without a head coach, but that could change in the coming days or weeks.
The Rangers will likely have to build out their roster via the draft and through savvy free agent signings this season. A superstar just doesn't look to be in the cards for them this offseason.
