Trade Pitch Has Rangers Dealing $45.5 Million Star in Blockbuster

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Trade pitch has Rangers dealing Chris Kreider.

The New York Rangers have struggled mightily this season and one trade pitch has them dealing a star forward in a massive blockbuster deal.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Rangers dealing Chris Kreider to the Minnesota Wild.

Rangers acquire:

• Ryan Hartman
• 2026 first-round pick

Wild acquire:

• Chris Kreider

The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as New York deals Kreider for Hartman and a first-round pick. It would be a massive deal as Minnesota acquires Kreider for a Stanley Cup run, while the Rangers shake up the core again.

Hartman is in the first year of his three-year $12 million deal. Hartman would be a middle-six forward for the Rangers and add some size to the lineup. He’s skated in 29 games recording 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points.

The big part of the deal is Kreider who’s in the fifth year of his seven-year $45.5 million deal. Kreider can be on the Wild’s top line and add some more offense alongside Kirill Kaprizov. This season, Kreider has skated in 30 games recording 11 goals and 1 assist for 12 points.

Rangers Healthy Scratch Kreider

Despite Kreider being a big part of the Rangers, he was a healthy scratch on December 23.

New York has struggled this season and the Rangers decided to make a bold move by scratching Kreider. The move comes as Kreider’s name has come up in trade talks as he topped The Athletic’s trade bait board.

“Well off his typical goal-scoring and point-producing pace of recent seasons, Kreider found himself demoted to the fourth line for Sunday’s loss in St. Louis,” the article read. “The longest-tenured Rangers player is no doubt feeling the strain of the current situation as acutely as anyone.

“Despite his struggles, Kreider is generating shots at a rate consistent with his career average — which could hint at some positive regression to come — and he remains a strong skater for a player of his size. He’s also on a fair-market contract for two seasons beyond this one and is only able to block a deal to half the league through a 15-team no-trade list,” the article added.

The Rangers already traded Jacob Trouba and now could move Kreider to further shake the core.

Wild Off to Hot Start

Minnesota entered the season with expectations of competing for a final playoff spot.

However, the Wild have been a major surprise as Minnesota is 20-10-4 and firmly in a playoff spot. A big reason why is Kaprizov who is an MVP frontrunner who has 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points in 33 games.

“Kirill is motivated like very few guys. He’s always motivated, but I think him and John have created a really good relationship. I know John’s communicating with him all the time. Kirill is a special player, but even special players want to be talked to, communicated with, helped, and I think that with the way that they’re interacting, it’s beneficial to Kirill,” Wild GM Bill Guerin said about Kaprizov.

With Minnesota off to a hot start, the Wild will likely be buyers ahead of the trade deadline.