Rangers & Stars Could Be Interesting Trade Partners This Offseason – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are going to be one of the more active teams this offseason as they look to bounce back after finishing 30th in the entire NHL. General manager Chris Drury is going to be looking around the league and seeing which teams could be potential trade partners. One team that should be near the top of that list is the Dallas Stars, who were just eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In this piece, we will go over why the Stars are a good trade partner and why one player in particular should be a top target for the Rangers.

Stars Could Look To Shake Up Their Roster After First Round Exit

After reaching the Western Conference Final the past three seasons (losing each time), the Stars found themselves eliminated in Game 6 of the first round this season at the hands of the Minnesota Wild. The team that finished third in the entire league finds itself out of the playoffs, and now the question is, where do they go from here? It’s clear that they have a very talented roster and will remain one of the top teams in the league for years to come, but they also have shown they don’t have enough to get the job done. While a major roster shakeup is not necessary, moving out some players to bring in new faces has to be an option this offseason.

A key reason why the Stars lost their series to the Wild was due to injuries up front and a lack of depth scoring. They were without Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin for the entirety of the series, and they only got one goal from a player who was not in their top five in team scoring during the regular season. Their top guys carried them in this series, but they couldn’t do it all on their own, and it cost them. Players like Jamie Benn and Thomas Harley had no points and are being rightly criticized for their poor play. The Stars have a good core in place, but shaking it up after a disappointing exit should be a consideration.

Stars Won’t Have Much Cap Space This Offseason

The Stars are also going to have to make some moves due to them not having much cap space to work with, and a major player needing a new deal. According to Puckpedia, they are going to have $11,114,667 to work with this offseason. With the way the cap is going up and the money players are making on new deals, this is not a lot to work with, and one player on the Stars might take up most, if not all, of that cap space. That player is Jason Robertson, and he is coming off the second-best regular season of his career and was their best player in the playoffs.

Robertson scored 45 goals and recorded 96 points in 82 regular-season games and followed it up with five goals and eight points in six playoff games. He is coming off a four-year deal that paid him $7.75 million per season, and with the way his career has progressed, he has earned the double-digit number he is going to make on his new contract. While Robertson is a restricted free agent, the Stars may not be willing to give him the money he wants, and they could look to trade him this offseason. If he does become available, the Rangers should make him their number one trade target.

Rangers Are a Perfect Trade Partner

The Rangers would be a good trade partner for the Stars for a few different reasons. They are going to have plenty of cap space this offseason and have players they want to trade that could be of interest to the Stars. The Rangers are projected to have almost $27 million in cap space this offseason, so they have plenty of money to go out and bring in a big-name player like Robertson if he were made available.

The Rangers also have had interest in Robertson in the past, going back to last offseason. They have assets to trade and could easily give him the contract he is looking for, and if he were to join the team, he would instantly become the top forward on the roster and would fill the top-six void the Rangers have had since they traded Artemi Panarin.

Now, what do the Rangers have that the Stars could be interested in? Two players that come to mind are Braden Schneider and Vincent Trocheck. Schneider fills a clear weakness the Stars have, and that is the right side of their defense. He is also only 24 years old, and while he does need a new contract, his ask won’t be as high as Robertson’s.

As for Trocheck, the Stars could use some help down the middle as the injuries to Seguin and Hintz exposed their lack of center depth. He is also locked up for three more seasons at a $5.625 million cap hit, so he would be the ideal second or third-line center for the Stars. Could a package involving Trocheck, Schneider, and the Rangers’ later first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft be enough to get Robertson?

The Rangers and Stars are going to be two of the more interesting teams to watch this offseason. The Rangers, they want to get back to being competitive as early as next season. For the Stars, they need to decide if the team they have is good enough and if they are going to try and run it back, or if a major move is needed in order to get them over the hump. If they do decide to trade a major player, like Robertson, the Rangers should be all over him, and they have the assets to get it done.