Rangers Shopping Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba

Still firmly in playoff contention after last season’s Presidents’ Trophy victory, the Rangers ranked third in the Metropolitan Division with a .658 hitting percentage and a 12-6-1 record. However, their 5-on-5 play remains an issue, and their subpar shot attempts and scoring chances came to a head Saturday after they allowed 40 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Oilers.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury was apparently so upset by their back-to-back losses to the Flames and Oilers in Alberta that he is “made it very clear that they are interested in making moves and shaking up their roster” Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports on Monday. Captain Jacob Trouba is being dangled as bait again after the club aggressively tried to find a deal for him over the summer, while star winger and lifelong Ranger Chris Kreider has also been made available, Friedman said.

They aren’t the only names being considered in the draft — presumably some cheaper and less-heralded pieces could easily be leveraged along with futures for short-term upgrades. But the fact that Drury is even considering tapping Kreider, a lifelong Ranger with two years left on his contract, indicates rapidly growing panic in New York about their skaters’ underlying play despite their 108-point pace.

Kreider is second on the Blueshirts with nine goals in 19 games, but inexplicably has yet to register an assist despite equally strong linemates Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith combined for seven goals. He won’t play tonight against the Blues, but it’s not a trade-related scratch – he’s up and dealing with an upper-body injury.

After years with Kreider and Zibanejad as some of the Rangers’ most consistent players, they have struggled to create much of anything at even strength. Their trio with Smith, acquired from the Penguins in an offseason trade, has generated just 2.69 expected goals per game. 60 minutes – the worst of the five Rangers forward combinations with at least 50 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. It would at least be acceptable if they didn’t also allow 2.85xG mod per hour, the highest grade among these five combinations.

Kreider has appeared in 834 regular-season games for the Rangers since they drafted him 19th overall in 2009, tied for third in franchise history with 313 goals and 10th with 561 points. He’s been an invaluable playoff player for them in recent years, scoring 24 goals and 37 points in 43 postseason games since 2022.

The backup captain has three years left on his contract at a discounted $6.5MM cap hit as he has scored at least 35 goals in three straight years and is on pace to do so again in 2024-25. He has a modified no-trade clause with a 15-team no-trade list, per PuckPedia , so Drury won’t have complete free rein as to where Kreider ends up if he ends up more aggressively trying to utilize him for a piece to help improve their possession numbers.

Trouba on the trading block is no surprise. The 30-year-old defenseman was nearly dealt to the Red Wings near the draft last summer, according to multiple reports, a trade he blocked with his full no-movement clause. That the NMC has downgraded to a modified no-trade clause with a 15-team no-trade list, so Drury has much more flexibility this time around where he could find a home for Trouba’s $8MM cap hit through 2025-26, provided they keep no salary and instead take a significant amount back when they “shake up their roster,” as Friedman put it.

Trouba has six assists and a +3 rating through 19 appearances this season, but is averaging a career-low 20:32 per game. He’s gotten the heaviest defensive usage of his career, playing a much smaller offensive role and starting over 60% of his even-strength shifts at defensive end for the first time, per Hockey Reference.