Rangers Reportedly Clearing The Decks For A Big Move

The New York Rangers are thinking into the future with their latest moves.

With their struggles continuing to get worse and worse, the Rangers traded Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko, without getting much in return in both of these transactions.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes there was a reason for that as Rangers general manager and president Chris Drury has something big in the works.

“I think right now, the whole mood, the way it is around the Rangers is they want to clear out people,” Friedman said. “Chris Drury and the Rangers front office have clearly decided this addition of the Rangers wasn’t going to work and now they are clearing the decks…

“What to me is going on here is the Rangers are clearing the decks to try something big. I think we are all trying to still figure out what that will be, but they are clearing the decks.”

The Rangers cleared Trouba’s $8 million cap hit after trading him to the Anaheim Ducks while players including Ryan Lindgren, Reilly Smith, Jimmy Vesey and newly acquired Will Borgen are set to hit the open market next year, so New York will have some money to play around with.

As Friedman said though, it’s unclear if Drury will look to make a big splash during the season in an effort to push for the playoffs or wait until the summer to revamp the team.

It’s typically more difficult to make a major trade in the middle of the year, so the free agent frenzy may be their best bet to swoop in and sign a big-time player.

Drury is clearly planning something, but the big question is when will he strike?