The New York Rangers fell short of winning the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup, and fittingly so, a recent mock trade gifts them with a star defenseman who would help ensure that such a fate has a low probability of replicating itself in 2024-2025.
The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy for the 2023-24 campaign behind their NHL-best 55-23-4 record. They looked like a team that could win it all before losing 4-2 to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Their lineup got a major boost from midseason call-up center Matt Rempe, who brought an element of toughness, energy, and grit to their blueline front from the middle of the ice, but the mock trade in question gives them a polished defender who can take them to even greater heights next season.
Rangers get arguably a top 20 defenseman in the NHL in recent mock trade
Per Cole Shelton of Heavy Sports, a user of the site PuckPedia concocted a deal that would send Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore to the Rangers along with Grigori Denisenko in exchange for Reilly Smith, Braden Schneider, and a 2025 first-round pick.
Theodore played 47 games in 2023-24, his fewest since his sophomore season in the league. He did come away with 27 takeaways and registered 78 blocks on the campaign, while his 22 giveaways were his lowest since that same sophomore campaign.
The 29-year-old would give the Rangers a steady option on defense. Though knee surgery caused him to miss 35 games last season, his 42 points, which averaged out to 0.89 points per game, marked a career-high, as Yahoo Sports’ Julian Gaudio accentuated.
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How do the other components of the mock trade factor into the equation for the Rangers?
Denisenko would come to Broadway along with Theodore, which would give New York a young option to further develop, as he’s only seen 32 games in four seasons in the NHL.
Giving up the 13-year veteran in Smith, along with Schneider, the latter of whom played all 82 games for the Rangers last season, would be a considerable package to trade away for Theodore. However, it would likely pay off in the long run.
Smith is a new addition from this offseason, and Schneider was inconsistent throughout the year. Theodore could slide in as an everyday option for Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and set out with something to prove after being left off of NHL.com’s top 20 defensemen’s list recently.
