The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
The New York Rangers will finish their selling at some point before 3 p.m. Eastern on Friday when they move Reilly Smith. But there are two players that are currently on the market for the right price who could motivate them to be buyers despite their shaky playoff status.
Mikko Rantanen is the headliner. The Carolina Hurricanes, after being rebuffed on an eight-year contract offer following their big acquisition of Rantanen from the Avalanche six weeks ago, have gauged the market ahead of Friday and are considering whether to flip Rantanen or keep him, try to go on a playoff run and likely watch him leave for nothing on July 1.
That second scenario likely isn’t palatable. Neither is another scenario: trading Rantanen within the Metro Division, only to see him across the ice in a playoff series this spring.
But there are also only a handful of teams that could meet the Canes’ asking price, which according to a league source is young players who can immediately step into the lineup. There are only a handful of teams who could entice Rantanen to sign an extension too.
The Los Angeles Kings are likely one. The Rangers are most definitely another.
The package going back to Carolina would likely have to center around Alexis Lafrenière, whose seven-year extension kicks in next season. Lafrenière has 35 points in 62 games and is one of the many Rangers who have underperformed this season. But he’s still just 23 and might be a fit in Carolina’s system.
The Canes would also ask for Gabe Perreault, the Rangers’ top forward prospect, who’s likely to turn pro after Boston College’s season is done next month. That’s a big return, but if Rantanen is willing to sign — possibly even an eight-year deal with the Canes ahead of a sign-and-trade — that’s one of the 15 best players in the league locked up on the Rangers roster.
If the Rangers could substitute Brennan Othmann for Perreault, that package plus either their 2025 or 2026 first-round pick — the one that isn’t going to the Pittsburgh Penguins via the Vancouver Canucks as part of the J.T. Miller trade — could be a winning offer among the few teams bidding.
The contract cost would be high, likely in the $14 million-per-year range. Rantanen could slide in on the right side with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. Panarin’s contract is up after next season, and it wouldn’t take a ton of cap maneuvering to fit the first year of Rantanen’s deal under the 2025-26 cap, though it would be tight.
The other player on the market who could motivate the Rangers to buy is Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, who has a year left at a very reasonable $3.25 million and is only 26. General manager Chris Drury has brought back players in his trades so far this season to fill spots, but Ferraro would be an upgrade on the left side, especially with Ryan Lindgren traded to the Avalanche.
Sharks GM Mike Grier was a Rangers adviser for Drury, and the Rangers’ remodel began last summer with the Sharks agreeing to take Barclay Goodrow on waivers. If the price is right — perhaps Othmann and a high draft pick — the Rangers could add Ferraro to the mix on the left side.
Something to watch over the next 24-plus hours.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade board 9.0: A new top target with one day until the deadline
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
