The New York Rangers could find use for a bottom-six center, one in particular from their Long Island rivals, the New York Islanders. J.G. Pageau has grit that he could add to the Rangers' lineup, which is sorely missing.![J.G. Pageau]()
The New York Rangers are rumored to be interested in New York Islanders Center, J.G. Pageau. He's primarily fulfilled his role with the Islanders as a bottom-six center.
He's proven capable of handling himself during the Islanders' recent playoff runs, which were far and few between despite Barry Trotz's best efforts.
According to The Athletic's Peter Baugh, the $30 million forward could be a trade target.
Of course, with only $777K in available cap space, the Rangers would have to dump some cap in return for Pageau to accommodate his $5 million AAV deal.
Peter Baugh thinks the Rangers would benefit from acquiring the two-way forward, but GM Matthieu Darche might not be a fan of trading him to divisional foes.
"Jean Gabriel-Pageau, Islanders: He'd be a great 3C option, but the Islanders might not want to trade one of their popular, long-time players to a major rival." Baugh said.
"It's hard to know who will be available come the trade deadline since so many teams are trying to win, but looking at rosters of teams who might be out of the mix, here are a few potential fits, given the Rangers' needs and types of players they tend to like." Peter Baugh said.
"It's hard to know who will be available come the trade deadline since so many teams are trying to win, but looking at rosters of teams who might be out of the mix, here are a few potential fits, given the Rangers' needs and types of players they tend to like." Peter Baugh said.
If they can't pry Pageau from the Islanders' clutches, they will have to look elsewhere for more depth pieces.
That could involve looking to the Atlantic Division for a top-six forward, which could end up being Alex Tuch. Though that would require an extension for the Sabres' star forward, and at the moment, we're not sure Drury could make it work.
The Rangers could turn to their rivals the Penguins for forwards like Bryan Rust, or Rickard Rakell who could add secondary-scoring on an lineup in 2024-25 which was anemic in that category.
In the meantime, it feels like Darche might charge Drury a premium for Pageau.
