The New York Rangers have had a disappointing season and will likely look to shake up their roster this offseason.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Rangers acquiring Jonas Brodin in an offseason blockbuster with the Minnesota Wild.
Rangers acquire:
Wild acquire:
- Mika Zibanejad ($1.5 million retained)
- Juuso Parssinen
- 2025 fifth-round pick (Minnesota’s)
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as New York and Minnesota would swap star players and add other pieces to the deal.
New York would acquire Brodin, who’s a star defenseman and would be a top-four defenseman for the Rangers. He’s currently in the fourth year of a seven-year, $42 million deal. Brodin has recorded 4 goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 42 games.
The Rangers would also acquire Madden, who’s a depth forward who’s been playing in the AHL. He’s currently unsigned for next season as he’s an RFA.
In return, the Rangers would deal Zibanejad and retain some money. Zibanejad would be a first-line forward with the Wild and help add some much-needed offense alongside Kirill Kaprizov. He’s in the third year of a seven-year, $68 million deal. Zibanejad has recorded 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points in 74 games this season.
The Wild would also acquire Parssinen, who’s a bottom-six forward but is a key piece to a team. Parssinen is a pending RFA and has recorded 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 45 games.
Rangers Had Trade Talks Involving Zibanejad
As New York struggled, the Rangers looked to make a big trade as there were talks of a Zibanejad-for-J.T. Miller swap.
However, the Rangers and Vancouver Canucks ended up agreeing to another deal, but Zibanejad’s name was heavily involved in trade rumors. Heading into the offseason, his name is expected to be brought back up, but he says he won’t let the trade rumors impact him.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Zibanejad said to The Athletic on January 3. “I don’t read anything, I don’t listen to anything. It’s noise. My focus has always been here. My focus has never been on anything else.”
Zibanejad does have a no-trade clause, so if he doesn’t want to get traded, he won’t. However, Zibanejad knows that in this market, rumors will always happen.
“It’s something that was negotiated and earned,” Zibanejad said. “There’s a reason why there are clauses like that. That’s what it is right now. But I don’t think about anything. My focus has always been here. My focus has never been on anything else. Of course, there are going to be more talks when we’re not winning. And it’s New York, so there’s always going to be extra talk about the situation. That’s nothing new. I’ve been here for quite some time. I know how this goes. I’m just trying to focus on what we have at hand.”
Zibanejad is a one-time NHL All-Star.
Wild Have Key Defensive Prospects Coming Into System
Although trading Brodin would be a surprise, Minnesota does have a surplus of defensive talent nearly ready to play in the NHL.
Minnesota selected Zeeev Buium 12th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft and projects to be a top-pair defenseman. As well as Buium, the Wild acquired David Jiricek, who was selected sixth overall in 2022 by the New Jersey Devils.
With those two coming up and already having Brock Faber, Wild general manager Bill Guerin is pleased with the young defenseman.
“Yeah, I am excited,” Guerin said. “I think between having some youth on the blue line and having some veteran leadership guys that they can learn from is really important too. I’m excited about the future of the blue line.”
Minnesota is 41-28-5 and holding onto a Wild Card spot.
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