With just one week to go before
the NHL trade deadline rumors are only going to intensify, some that will
involve the New York Rangers and many that will not. This morning there was one that does not
directly involve New York that caught my eye.
Chatter has it that James Neal might be available via trade from the
Dallas Stars. If the Rangers are going
to make a move, this is the kind of move they should be making. For whatever reason this is also the kind of
player the Rangers are rarely connected to in the trade market rumors, rather
they are always connected to aging or over the hill veterans.
Neal, 23, would fill a need the
team has had for a long time in the role of a true power forward that can score
upwards of 30 goals in a season. Last
season in 78 games Neal scored 28 goals and had 27 assists. This season he has 21 goals and 18 assists in
59 games which puts him on pace for similar numbers. He has one year remaining on his contract at
a cap hit of 2.875 million and will be a restricted free agent.
The rumor involving Neal this
morning per Darren Dreger in his Dreger
Report:
It's believed the Pens are willing to move defenceman Alex Goligoski for the right forward, and a trade involving Stars winger James Neal has been discussed.
The deal makes sense for both
sides as Pittsburgh obviously needs offensive help with their injuries and
their depth on the blueline makes Goligoski more expendable to acquire a top
end power forward like Neal. On the
Dallas side Goligoski is seen as a very capable offensive defender, but he does
have defensive holes in his game.
If Neal truly is available it is
a move that Glen Sather has to kick the tires on and while we do not have a
player currently at Goligoski’s level, Michael Del Zotto is the one guy who has
that kind of upside to intrigue the Stars with the same defensive warts. I have repeatedly said that I am opposed to
moving Del Zotto despite his struggles this season, but this is the kind of
talent you consider moving him for.
Since Del Zotto is below where Goligoski is you would definitely have to
add more in the way of picks/prospects whether it be another defensive prospect
like Tomas Kundratek/Pavel Valentenko or a forward prospect like Evgeny
Grachev. Who knows if the Stars would even consider that to be enough. Parting with young players is
one of the hardest things to do for those that follow them closely, but when
doing you have the possibility to do it for an established young player who has
proven he can perform at this level sometimes you have to pull the trigger.
It is likely that the Stars
would push for Ryan McDonagh to be included in the deal instead of Del Zotto,
which I would not do at this point. Neal
is a huge upgrade for the team, but the loss of McDonagh would be considerable
right now as he has been the Rangers best defender recently and only shows
signs of getting better. In the end the Stars and Rangers likely wont come together
on a deal for Neal, but it is certainly one that Sather should be calling about.
