The Rangers embarked on their first stage of lineup retooling in practice on Thursday as the team welcomed Alex Wennberg into the mix.
Wennberg marked the first of multiple additions president and general manager Chris Drury is expected to bring to his Metropolitan Division-leading Blueshirts ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, which left the lineup up in the air as head coach Peter Laviolette experimented with his bottom-six.
Acquiring a top right wing is next on the Rangers’ agenda, but the club is also looking to add depth on defense.
The Rangers were in on the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes, but they lost out to the Hurricanes late Thursday. Carolina offloaded a significant amount of salary via waivers and acquired Guentzel and Ty Smith from the Penguins in exchange for Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasili Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, a conditional second-round pick and a conditional fifth-rounder in this summer’s draft, according to TSN.
The condition, according to the TSN report, is if the Hurricanes don’t win the Stanley Cup this year, the Penguins will not receive the fifth-round pick.
If Carolina makes the Stanley Cup Final, the second-round pick becomes a first.
Pittsburgh also retained 25 percent of Guentzel’s contract.
Word is Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas was set on getting a first-rounder and a prime prospect at the least in exchange for Guentzel.
It’s safe to assume the Rangers would have had to part with their 2024 first-round pick, Kaapo Kakko and a top prospect at minimum to be in the running.
Bunting was withheld from the Hurricanes lineup against the Canadiens Thursday night in order to ensure he could be part of the package to Pittsburgh.
A reunion with Frank Vatrano has been on the Rangers’ radar.
The Ducks sharpshooter complemented the Rangers’ top-line staples, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, during their run to the Eastern Conference Final together in 2021-22.
With another full year remaining on his contract at $3.65 million, Vatrano could provide the Rangers with some stability in that spot until the end of the 2024-25 playoffs.
The 29-year-old is in the midst of a career year with 29 goals and 20 assists in 62 games so far this season.
After the Sharks dealt Anthony Duclair to the Lightning on Thursday night, the only other Rangers reunion option would be the Blues’ Pavel Buchnevich.
The Russian wing provides a similar situation to Vatrano, in the sense that he’s already proven to work alongside Zibanejad and Kreider and would fill that need through 2024-25, when the final year of his contract at $5.8 million is up.
Salary would have to be retained on Buchnevich, who also has a 12-team no-trade list.
The Rangers already completed a trade with the Kraken, but Jordan Eberle’s status in Seattle is still uncertain.
According to a league source, the Kraken would like to extend the 33-year-old wing, but they are currently at an impasse over term. If the sides don’t agree, Eberle could be in play ahead of the deadline.
Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun would be a bit of a different direction for the Rangers, who have appeared to prioritize bolstering the forward group.
The way Chychrun would boost the Rangers’ top-six defensemen, however, may represent a greater use of their assets.
Even if it’s not a notable name like Chychrun, the Rangers are looking to add to their defense.
Depending on his recovery timeline, Ben Harpur could be an in-house option.
Harpur was ruled out for the remainder of the Wolf Pack’s season after undergoing pectoral surgery, but he has resumed skating, according to a source.
The 6-foot-6 blueliner, who played 42 games for the Rangers last season, would give the team more size and muscle on the back end.
Zac Jones has been waiting in the wings all season, having only played in 17 games this season, but bulking up appears to be the end goal.
