Your submissions on our “who says no?” mailbag featured some farfetched ideas, more feasible options and even a few jokes. “Ls for Ws,” Daniel K. commented.
The New York Rangers would certainly say yes to that proposition. Unfortunately for them, trades aren’t that simple.
Let’s look into some suggestions and why they might or (in most cases) might not work.
(Note: Submissions have been reformatted and lightly edited for clarity and length.)
Pittsburgh Penguins receive: Adam Fox
Rangers receive: Erik Karlsson
— Charles H.
The Rangers would be getting the much older player with the more expensive cap hit who has worse offensive production the past two years and plays worse defense. Chris Drury better hang up before Kyle Dubas finishes the offer.
Winnipeg Jets receive: Reilly Smith
Rangers receive: 2026 second-round pick
— Bill C.
Bill C. noted in his proposal that this would be a bet that the Jets won’t be as good in 2025-26 as they are this year, so the 2026 pick could end up being in the top 50. That would mean a pretty steep drop-off in Winnipeg, but the point remains that they probably won’t be back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy winners. Plus the Jets have a 2026 second-round pick and don’t have one in 2025.
The Rangers would be smart to do this deal, but I don’t think Winnipeg would bite. When the Jets acquired Tyler Toffoli last year, it cost a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick. Toffoli was in the midst of his second consecutive 30-goal season. Smith, meanwhile, has 29 points in 57 games. His value is probably somewhere between what Toffoli and Jack Roslovic fetched last year. Roslovic cost the Rangers a fourth-round pick to acquire.
If the market is similar this season, a third-round pick feels like a fair acquisition cost for Smith. Winnipeg probably would not want to give up a second but could perhaps part with a third if looking for more forward depth.
Buffalo Sabres receive: K’Andre Miller
Rangers receive: Bowen Byram
— Jonathan D.
Byram got a lot of love in this mailbag. Rangers fans are interested in him, and for good reason. He was elite during the 2022 playoffs for the Colorado Avalanche. He tied Connor McDavid and Gabriel Landeskog for the highest plus-minus that postseason, most of which took place before his 21st birthday, and hoisted the Stanley Cup. The defenseman comes with injury questions because of his early-career concussion issues, but he hasn’t had one since the 2021-22 season.
The Avalanche traded Byram to the Sabres last deadline, and he’s been solid since. The 23-year-old has already tied his career high in points this season (29) and is playing 23:10 a night. His underlying numbers are good, too: colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model has him at a positive rating on both offense and defense this season.
So why would Buffalo want to trade Byram? Well, like K’Andre Miller, he’s a pending restricted free agent after the season. The Sabres also have Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson signed through at least 2029-30. All three of those players are left-shot defensemen, and so is Byram. Dahlin and Samuelsson are both playing on the right, but coach Lindy Ruff has said multiple times this season that it’s not ideal having lefties play together. Buffalo could recoup other quality pieces by trading Byram and avoid committing long-term to a defensive group that could have an all-lefty top four. Colleague Chris Johnston has him at No. 7 on his latest trade board.
Miller, like Byram, is a left-shot defenseman. That makes me think Buffalo would say no to this deal. It would essentially be swapping restricted free agents and getting back a player who doesn’t solve their redundancies. Plus, Byram is a year younger and performing better this season, even if he has never logged as many points (43) as Miller did in 2022-23.
Commenter Jimbo suggested a different Byram trade, this one revolving around Braden Schneider with, as he wrote, “picks or mid-tier prospects to balance it out.” That could be more appealing to Buffalo, assuming New York is the team adding to the deal. Schneider, who like Byram is 23, has never consistently been on a top pair like Byram this year, but he’s a big righty with promising defensive tools. The feasibility of that trade would come down to what else the Rangers would be willing to part with. Buffalo has leverage — it doesn’t have to trade Byram — and if the Sabres demanded a first-round pick, the Rangers would likely have a hard time doing that, considering they are giving up either this or next year’s first in the J.T. Miller trade. New York also doesn’t have second-round picks in any of the next three drafts, and Buffalo probably wouldn’t be moved too much by a third.
Sabres receive: Alexis Lafrenière and a second-round pick
Rangers receive: Byram and Ryan McLeod
— Philip T.
Before digging into this, a reminder that the Rangers would have to acquire a second-round pick to make this happen. This is an intriguing proposal, though, so let’s play along and say that happens.
We’ve already established that Byram is a quality player. The 25-year-old McLeod, meanwhile, is in the midst of a career-best year with 14 goals and 30 points. He’s a good two-way center, and the Sabres don’t have great depth up the middle, so he’d be a difficult player with which to part.
This proposed deal would come down to how Buffalo views Lafrenière’s potential. The 23-year-old was excellent in 2023-24, logging a career-high 28 goals and 57 points, but his game has slipped this season. He has not shown an ability to produce consistently when not on a line with Artemi Panarin. The Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Lafrenière line that was dominant all last season has had good five-on-five results in 2024-25, outscoring opponents 31-23 and having 52.25 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. But the Rangers have a sub-50 percent expected goal rate with all four other lines that include Lafrenière and have played at least 20 five-on-five minutes this season. That has to be at least a little concerning to a team like Buffalo if it is considering parting with a strong defenseman and reliable middle-six center.
My gut is the Sabres say no, and the Rangers might too, given Lafrenière’s tool set. But this made me stop and think for a bit.
Utah Hockey Club receives: Mika Zibanejad
Rangers receive: Second-round pick
— Samuel F.
Zibanejad says no. He has a full no-movement clause. Even if he’s receptive to waiving it — a big ‘if’ — a Utah (formerly Arizona) franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2020 bubble does not seem like it would be one of his preferred destinations.
Ottawa Senators receive: K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafrenière, first-round pick, third-round pick
Rangers receive: Brady Tkachuk
— Brian S.
Be careful, Brian. You don’t want any tampering allegations against your name.
I realize this is an overly simplistic way to look at a Brady Tkachuk trade, but let’s look back at what the Calgary Flames got for his brother, Matthew Tkachuk, in the summer of 2022. The Florida Panthers, who also received a 2025 fourth-round pick, sent Calgary Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick. Huberdeau was coming off a 115-point season and Weegar had appeared on Norris ballots the previous two seasons. Lafrenière and Miller are younger with team control but at this point don’t rise to that level of player.
These aren’t apple-to-apple comparisons. Matthew had over 100 points his last year in Calgary — a plateau Brady has never reached — and was a restricted free agent. Brady would come with three-plus years of team control at an $8.2 million average annual value — extra valuable considering the projected cap spikes. But even if there are differences, the package Calgary received is indicative of what a superstar-level player costs. This proposed offer, though nothing to scoff at, does not rise to that level in my eyes.
Ottawa has repeatedly said it does not want to trade Tkachuk, and the Senators should be in no rush to given their positioning in the standings and their captain’s contract. Ottawa says no to this deal.
Pittsburgh Penguins receive: Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault
Rangers receive: Sidney Crosby
— Alexander N.
The Penguins would say no, then send the proposal to Crosby just so he could veto it with his no-movement clause for good measure.
Los Angeles Kings receive: Zac Jones, 2025 sixth-round pick
Rangers receive: Jordan Spence
— Stellan A.
Jones has been a frequent healthy scratch on a team currently outside of a playoff spot. Spence is a promising young player with team control on a good Western Conference team bound for the postseason. If Jones had this much trade value, he’d already be gone, considering how little Peter Laviolette has used him this year.
Anaheim Ducks receive: Adam Edström, Adam Sýkora and Matthew Robertson
Rangers receive: Trevor Zegras
— Michael K.
I realize Zegras has dealt with injuries and has underperformed the past two seasons, but he’s still only 23 and has a pair of 60-plus point seasons to his name. If the Rangers are going to trade for someone like him, the return is going to sting a little. You have to give to get.
Edström, Sýkora and Robertson don’t meet that bar. Of those three, Edström is the only one who looks like a sure-thing NHLer, and that is most likely in a fourth-line role. Zegras is younger than him, too. The forward’s trade value is down, but Anaheim isn’t going to give him away.
Trevor Zegras scored 23 goals in 2022-23, including this one against the Rangers in October. He has only 13 in two seasons since. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Ducks receive: K’Andre Miller
Rangers receive: Trevor Zegras
— Brendan M.
This is a far more palatable deal for the Ducks, so much so that I think the Rangers say no. Brendan added some commentary with his proposal, writing that Zegras and Miller are two players who “hit it big at a young age, have stagnated and could do with a change in scenery.” He also suggested that, if the Rangers make this move, they trade Brennan Othmann for a defenseman to replace Miller.
That all sounds good in theory, but replacing Miller is a difficult task. Even if he has not reached the highs of his 2022-23 season, he’s still capable of playing nearly 22 minutes a night on a top or second pair. Acquiring someone like that will cost more than Othmann. For example, Vancouver had to give up a first-round pick to get Marcus Pettersson in January.
Colleague Eric Stephens, who covers the Ducks, also has his doubts from Anaheim’s perspective.
“If the Ducks were in real need of a left-shot defenseman or were lacking someone of Miller’s profile in their system, I could buy them taking a shot in a one-for-one,” he said. “But they’ve seen Jackson LaCombe take off this season and still have fellow youngsters Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger who need to be playing consistent NHL minutes.”
Samuel F. suggested Miller and a third-round pick for Zegras and Pavel Mintyukov. That probably swings too far in the other direction and the Ducks say no. Mintyukov is only 21 and has lots of potential. Corey Pronman, one of The Athletic’s prospect gurus, projects him to become a top-pair defenseman “who will get a lot of points in the NHL.” Stephens said he would see the Ducks the considering this trade only if the Rangers’ 2026 first-round pick — which they might not even have because of conditions on the J.T. Miller trade — is in the mix.
Tampa Bay Lightning receive: Ryan Lindgren (50 percent retained)
Rangers receive: Conor Sheary, 2025 second-round pick (lower of the Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs picks owned by the Lightning)
— Reed L.
Congratulations, Reed. You submitted the deal I’m deeming most likely to work. Initially I thought a second-round pick was too high based on past deadline returns for rental defensemen, but your inclusion of Conor Sheary was smart. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $2 million AAV contract. The Lightning put him on waivers earlier this season and he cleared. He’s currently in the minors. By taking on that contract, the Rangers would relieve the Lightning of an $850,000 buried penalty against the salary cap. That, plus salary retention on Lindgren’s deal, could be enough to pry a second-round pick from Tampa Bay.
The one wild card is Sheary having a 16-team no-trade list, according to PuckPedia. If he has the Rangers on the list, he could veto the trade. That likely wouldn’t be an issue if he saw more NHL opportunity in New York than he’s had in Tampa Bay, where he’s played only five NHL games this season.
(Top photo of Brady Tkachuk and K’Andre Miller: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
