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[text_output]There’s been a lot of talk about what the Rangers should do when it comes to this year’s trade deadline.

Should they buy, or should they sell?

Based on the current play of the team, it’s obvious that it’s not a bad idea to consider them to be sellers. In fact, I think the real question we should be asking is, how much should they sell?

How much should they give up, what kind of sell should it be? Should it be a rebuild on the fly, getting rid of certain players and still have some sort of core that could carry them to a certain extent in the playoffs.

They could also do a full-blown rebuild. I’ll get to what I mean by that in a few moments.

At this year’s entry-draft, general manager Jeff Gorton stated that this team was rebuilding on the fly. While we didn’t truly understand what it meant, we got the picture. They were dumping the salary of Derek Stepan to re-coop draft picks, and most importantly salary so they could go after free agents, such as Kevin Shattenkirk.

They ended up getting Shattenkirk, at what many claim a “team friendly” deal, meaning the term and the dollar amount they got him for was very reasonable. This deal the Rangers got Shattenkirk for was a way to allow them to go after other free agents, some of their own restricted free agents, to be a stronger team.

Now we sit here, a confusing time for the Rangers. The Rangers sit on the outside looking in for a playoff race, with nowhere to go. They could easily go up, they could easily go down. The yin and yang this Ranger team has shown this year has been bipolar to say the least.[/text_output]

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[text_output]So now, the Rangers have options. They can trade players like Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, David Desharnais and Nick Holden, while they have value. While they’re still under contract for the New York Rangers and they wouldn’t lose them for absolutely nothing.

These assets, as a way to grow our future, could give us what we need to retool our farm system, as that has taken a beating during the years where management thought too highly of this team.

Though they thought they were a legit contender, when they actually weren’t. They tried to put all their eggs in one basket and now, it’s catching up to them. They don’t have the talent in their farm system that is ready to play consistent minutes on the big roster. Sure, you can say some of them could be ready to come up, but would you trust them with this coach?

That’s what I thought.[/text_output]

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[text_output]It’s hard for me to write this next part, realize that this probably isn’t going to happen. While this is very unlikely, I want to point out that this could be very possible.

Let’s say they blow up the whole thing, quite reasonable, quite possibly depending on what the Rangers management think of their chances the next two to three years.

The center piece of throwing this all out and starting again is trading Henrik Lundqvist.

They would have to consider it, to do it as a service for him, similar to what the Bruins did for Ray Bourque. Knowing that there is no other option, knowing that they literally can’t do anything else to improve to get to that next level. They would need to think of this as an option.

The Rangers are as good as Henrik Lundqvist is, right now at age 35, he’s proving that he still has a lot left in the tank to be a top goaltender in the league. As much good as he has done for this franchise, he’s also held them back in a way I didn’t want to think about.

This Ranger team more than anything without Lundqvist would not be a playoff team. They wouldn’t even come close to being a top team in the league. Maybe, just maybe being humbled a bit, and brought back to reality is just what the Rangers need to understand where exactly they’re at.

Trading Lundqvist would be hard, he has a huge average annual value, by making $8.5 million a year, has a full no-trade clause and has stated time after time, that he is a Ranger for life. Sometimes, management needs to step in and put the writing on the wall. They need to tell Lundqvist that they need to move on from him, not only for the franchise, but for himself as well.

It’s come to a point, where I as a fan, understand that Lundqvist being traded would be devastating. It would also prove to me, that the Rangers are committed to fully rebuilding, re-cooping key assets to start a movement in rebuilding this team.[/text_output]

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[text_output]This would also mean other core players would be looked at. Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, and Chris Kreider would have to be in consideration to get traded, in order for them to move past this core and build a new one. A new core would center themselves around guys like Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes, Brady Skjei, and a goaltender of their future, likely Igor Shestyorkin.

Ranger fans would have to understand that missing the playoffs, would be inevitable, but having a competent coach to help build them back up is also important. Though, also having management understand that this isn’t a quick rebuild, would also be important to understand.

Now, let’s talk about a return for the centerpiece of the full blown rebuild, number thirty, Henrik Lundqvist.

Note, salary would need to be retained, unless he’s going to Arizona, which is highly doubtful in a situation where we’d want the team to help him out, the Rangers are going to have to retain salary.

I’d expect two first round draft picks, two seconds, and a high-level prospect. The Rangers are going to need to sell high here, show the league that you’re getting an all-world goaltender in Lundqvist.

I want to stress again that this scenario is incredibly unlikely, but you’ll never see this team be in full blown rebuild mode until Lundqvist retires, or they smarten up and realize that they need to help Lundqvist, by helping themselves.

This isn’t a deal that is happening now, this isn’t a deal that is happening a month or two from now. This is a deal that will happen, when the Rangers management realizes it’s time to press the self-destruct button they will.

Kreider, McDonagh and Zuccarello? They aren’t safe from the rebuild on the fly idea either. Because, all three are easily replaceable in terms of either getting assets in the free agent market or bringing up someone from Hartford. They could also, you know, trust the youth that they have on this team right now, and give them expanded roles.

It’s going to be interesting in what Rangers management thinks of this team. Do we have enough to say retooling and rebuilding on the fly still might work, or do they go down the road of pressing self-destruct, and starting over.

Either way, the rebuild on the fly, or the full blown rebuild should include Alain Vigneault, Scott Arniel, Lindy Ruff and Darryl Williams.

Wait, who’s Darryl Williams?

This guy:[/text_output]

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[text_output]The end.[/text_output]

Author: Shawn Taggart

Shawn Taggart is a New York Ranger fan, who loves to dive in to the statistical side of hockey.

Besides watching the Rangers, he watches the Yankees, Knicks and Giants and has this strange obession with finding some really good obscure craft beers. Loyal listener of music.