By the time March 7 arrives, and the lingering dust from the previous day’s 3 p.m. trading deadline settles, the Rangers’ roster will look different. Potentially quite different. If it was only going to feature one trade, that wouldn’t have required The Letter 2.0 from president and general manager Chris Drury last week, where he labeled this next stretch awaiting the Rangers as a “retool” and not a “rebuild.”
The major question over the next six weeks becomes which players end up leaving. But after that, once the deals possibly involving names such as Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck and Brennan Othmann and Alexis Lafrenière are potentially made, the Blueshirts’ focus will become figuring out who receives expanded opportunities. Shifts become miniature auditions for youngsters. Games become samples for Drury to determine which pieces could fit into the Rangers’ long-term blueprint.
It could get ugly — even uglier than it has already been through 50 games — for the Rangers. But Sports+ looks at some names who could receive, and benefit from, increased chances once the roster changes begin.
Gabe Perreault (20 years old, first-round pick in 2023, 22 career NHL games)
