The New York Rangers have all of the offense in the world but adding a 40-goal scorer could put them into true Stanley Cup contender territory.
Rangers Pursuing Scheifele?
The Winnipeg Jets have made it clear that they would prefer to retool instead of rebuild which has led to trade talks regarding Mark Scheifele stalling. However, the New York Rangers could offer a package that gives the Jets their retool.
At the heart of the speculation lies the exchange of star center Mark Scheifele and promising defenseman Ville Heinola from the Jets to the Rangers.
In return, the Jets could receive center/winger Filip Chytil, along with defenseman Braden Schneider from the Rangers.
This trade does two things mainly for the Jets. It gives them an immediate player to replace Scheifele and it gives them a young defenseman who is better than Heinola in return.
Schneider was drafted one year after Heinola was drafted and has found an NHL role with the Rangers while Heinola has struggled to break through with the Jets. Schneider has played over 3 times the amount of games Heinola has and is also a lot more NHL-groomed. Standing just 2" taller than Heinola, Schneider weighs nearly 25 lbs more proving he is going to be an NHLer for a long time.
The Jets would also get Filip Chytil who scored 22 goals and 45 points last season as a 23-year-old. He was a first-round pick back in 2017 and is finally starting to show his true potential as an NHL player. On top of this, he is signed for the next four seasons at a reasonable cap hit.
Despite Winnipeg getting two great assets, they would also give up the best asset in Mark Scheifele. Scheifele scored 42 goals last season and was also a point-per-game player in the five seasons prior. He is undoubtedly a difference-maker and could help the Rangers out of a tough metropolitan division with the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes.
