The New York Rangers might be one of the most difficult teams to pin down when it comes to their 2025 NHL Trade Deadline plans.

They entered the season with the expectation of competing for—and ideally winning—the Stanley Cup. But the on-ice play has not come close to matching the preseason expectations, and they are currently on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and need to do a lot of work to climb back into it.

It would not be the worst idea for them to consider strategically selling off some parts to help replenish their future assets.

They do not seem to have any interest in doing that, however, having just acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks. Even though Miller has more years remaining on his contract, that is very much a win-now move and shows that the Rangers are not ready to throw in the towel on this season.

Whether or not that works remains to be seen.

The Rangers do not have a particularly deep farm system and have really depleted their short-term draft capital, so it probably would not make much sense to give up what they do have for rentals just to try and sneak in as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

What they should do is a blend of adding players with term on their contracts and strategically selling players that do not fit for next season.

So with all of that in mind, let's try to take a look at some potential win-win trade ideas for the Rangers.

Trade for Blackhawks D Connor Murphy

The Rangers have a lot of flaws, but none is bigger than the fact they simply do not defend well enough. Goalies Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick are doing a lot of heavy lifting—again—to mask their inability to suppress chances, and they could definitely use another top-four defenseman (or two) in their lineup.

So let's talk about Chicago's Connor Murphy.

Murphy is not going to do much damage offensively, but he is a very solid defensive presence who would help upgrade the Rangers' defense.

The Blackhawks are allowing 2.47 expected goals per 60 minutes when he is on the ice during 5-on-5 play, which is a very respectable number given how bad the rest of the Blackhawks lineup is and how bad their team defense is.

Just for context, the Rangers did not have a single defenseman on their roster with an expected goal number that good. Adam Fox is leading the team at 2.52 against per 60 minutes.

What makes Murphy so attractive is that he is signed through next season at a very reasonable salary-cap number ($4 million), while the Blackhawks also have a salary retention spot available that could help ease the cap situation for the Rangers.

Chicago is also going to be in a definite sell-mode as its rebuild continues.

The problem would be whether or not the Rangers have the resources to match what Chicago would want.

The Blackhawks traded Jake McCabe to Toronto under similar circumstances a year ago for a 2025 conditional first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick and forwards Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev. The draft picks were the key.

The Rangers do not have their 2025 pick, nor do they have any second-round picks over the next three years, but they do have their 2026 first-round pick and all of their third-rounders.

Realistically speaking, if the Rangers are in a win-now mode, those draft picks have more value to them as trade chips than they do as draft assets. If the goal is to win a Stanley Cup at some point in the next two years, there is not a single player they are going to pick in the back half of the 2026 first round that is going to help them achieve that goal.

Would it be worth moving for a player like Murphy that could fill a gigantic need for two potential playoff runs? It might be.

Trade Ryan Lindgren

Is this something the Rangers are likely to do?

No.

But we're not talking about what the Rangers will do, we're talking about what they should do.

Or at least trying to give them some ideas.

The Rangers almost certainly still see Lindgren as a key part of their defense, and they may not be looking to become a seller after adding Miller. But from a production and performance standpoint, Lindgren is one of the weak links on the defense. He is also a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, and given what the Rangers have already paid to Will Borgen, it is likely that Lindgren will not be a cheap re-sign.

That is a mistake they should not make.

There also might be an opportunity to still flip him for a draft pick before the deadline. Even with his flaws, Lindgren is still the type of player that NHL GM's will happily give up a second-or third-round pick for at this time of year. The Rangers should let one of them do that.

Trade Reilly Smith

Same concept as with Lindgren. Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season and is not really moving the needle for them this season in terms of contending right now. He has shown flashes of being a solid secondary scoring option, but has also found himself as a healthy scratch.

He's not a player the Rangers should re-sign, and there might actually be a way for them to get a pick back in return that could be used as part of another trade.

One potential option—a reunion with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Smith played some of his best hockey there, won a Stanley Cup, and was only traded away as part of a salary-cap crunch. Vegas would need to do some work to fit in the remainder of Smith's salary this season, but it is in the market for another middle-six winger and has all of its future second-round picks as well as five third-round picks over the next five years.

If the Rangers could trade Smith for a second or a couple of thirds, that could bring in some future trade capital that could either be re-flipped at the deadline or in the offseason.

Trade for Sabres D Bowen Byram

Consider everything we said about the Rangers defense in the Murphy and Lindgren sections, and also apply it here.

The position needed an overhaul in the offseason, and it still needs one now.

Moving on from Jacob Trouba was a start. But it is clearly not the finish line.

Byram is an interesting case because he still has untapped potential and top-pairing ability, but it has not quite worked out for him in Buffalo the way the Sabres hoped. It could be a situation where a fresh start and getting out of that losing culture could help him, especially if he got an opportunity to play next to somebody like Fox on the Rangers' defense.

The Rangers' defensive issue is not just about defensive zone coverages. It is also about not having enough players with some mobility that can move the puck.

Byram is a restricted free agent and due for a new contract extension, and the Sabres are no doubt looking keep re-tooling their roster during their perpetual rebuild. They might have some interest in one of the Rangers' young defensemen, or additional draft pick capital.

[Expected Goal Data In This Article Via Natural Stat Trick]