The New York Rangers are set to have a busy offseason this summer. General manager Chris Drury is widely expected to offload veteran center Vincent Trocheck in a major trade. While letting go of Trocheck will sting, New York is going through a retooling and has an eye on the future. With the star center on his way out, Drury will look to add quality young players to the roster.
Free agency could be an avenue for the Rangers to land some targets. After all, New York will have plenty of money to work with this summer. According to Puckpedia.com, the club will have more than $32 million in projected cap space once they trade Trocheck’s $5.6 million AAV contract this summer. Nevertheless, the 2026 NHL free agency class is fairly weak. Because of this, the Rangers are likely to explore trades in the coming weeks.
The Athletic’s Peter Baugh and Vincent Mercogliano recently named several potential summer trade targets for New York. In the piece, three specific young forwards stuck out as attractive options. Topping the list is versatile Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque. Ideally, the Stars would love to re-sign the budding star. The club, however, likely cannot keep both Bourque and superstar Jason Robertson.
Dallas only has around $10 million in project cap space at the moment. Assuming they give Robertson a massive new deal, they will have to offload a few players. Bourque could very well fit in this category. The forward reached a career-high 41 points in 2025-26 and will continue getting better. New York will have competition to sign Bourque, though, as multiple teams are already being linked with him.
William Eklund, Mason McTavish are Also Options for New York Rangers
GettyThe New York Rangers may view William Eklund as the top target.
Another possible trade target for the New York Rangers should be San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund. As the aforementioned duo points out, the two teams have already discussed a possible trade involving their 2026 first-round picks. If the Sharks stick with the second overall selection, Eklund could become available.
San Jose may even want a defenseman in return for the winger, and New York has Braden Schneider available to move. Eklund is a former 2021 first-round pick and has reached at least 50 points in each of the last two seasons.
Finally, the Rangers could also look at Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish. The forward previously signed a six-year, $42 million contract ($7 million AAV), but did regress during the 2025-26 campaign. Nevertheless, McTavish recorded 53 points in the previous season and may just need a change of scenery.
Bourque and Eklund are better suited on the wing, while McTavish is more of a true center. In this case, the current Duck could become Trocheck’s eventual replacement in the Rangers lineup.
New York has the Draft Capital to Facilitate a Trade
Just what direction the New York Rangers opt for via the trade market could depend on their selections in the draft. At the moment, New York holds the fifth and 26th overall picks in the first round. Drury could stand pat and select quality young players for the future, or he could use at least one of these picks to make a trade.
In total, the Rangers have seven of the top 100 picks in the 2026 draft. While the team may not have a ton of current players to dangle, these selections are valuable trade pieces. What is clear is that New York needs to add talented forwards to their group as soon as possible.
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