Ek’s Note: hockeybuzz is always looking for new writers and we’re starting to get some interesting submissions from people who are sending their submissions to Eklund at Hockeybuzz.com.  Today’s featured possible new writer is John Bianchi who lives in Manhattan and says he lives and dies with blue shirts… I don’t know how many of you do as well. Let us know what you think of John and if you want to be interested in running for a team that we don’t have covered, please feel free to send an email to me and make sure in the subject you put Hockeybuzz Writer.

Rangers Trade Deadline Preview: Stuck in the Middle… Again

The New York Rangers are officially in no-man’s land. Through this point of the 2025–26 season, they’re sitting at 16-13-4, seventh in the Metro, and basically spinning their wheels. They’re not bad enough to clearly sell, not good enough to feel confident about buying, and that’s the most dangerous place you can be with the trade deadline looming on March 6.

They’re “in it,” technically. But watching this team night to night, it’s hard not to ask the obvious question: *what direction is this actually going?

 The Panarin Problem: Trade Him… or Roll the Dice?

Everything comes back to The Bread Man.

He’s 34, in the final year of his deal, and to his credit, still producing at an elite level with 28 points in 28 games. The problem? Contract talks have basically stalled out.

Panarin wants term. He wants to get paid. The Rangers, meanwhile, are clearly thinking short-term, and Panarin’s camp is thinking anything but. And honestly, that gap doesn’t feel small. Or even getting smaller.

Then Panarin goes and doesn’t exactly shut down the idea of returning to Russia, saying, “You never know… hard to say right now.” Which is about as comforting as…..

Around the league, the feeling is pretty simple: Chris Drury’s hand is going to be forced by the standings. Frank Seravalli summed it up best: Where the Rangers are in the standings will dictate everything. And if they’re not clearly in the playoff picture by the deadline, it would be borderline irresponsible **not** to move Panarin.

Letting a player like that walk for nothing? That’s how GMs lose jobS

Why This Team Keeps Feeling Off

There isn’t just one problem here.  Should I get the chance to be the writer for the Rangers here I will go into these are a much greater detail of course. But here’s a summary:

The third line of Connor Sheary, Laba, and Taylor Raddysh might be the least threatening third line in the NHL. Yes, the J.T. Miller trade helped — Miller was better than a point-per-game guy after arriving, and Zibanejad benefited playing with him — but once you get past the top six, things fall off a cliff.

The power play fell apart.

This was a strength not long ago. Now? It dropped to 17.6 percent last season after being over 26 percent the year before. David Quinn has been brought in to fix it, but so far, it still looks way too predictable.

The defense just doesn’t stack up.

Pairings like Borgen–Soucy or Schneider–Vaakanainen simply don’t compare to what teams like New Jersey or Carolina are rolling out. This team gave up over three goals per game last season and it still feels shaky.

Core guys need to be better

Zibanejad scoring 20 goals isn’t good enough. Fox dropping to 61 points after three straight 70-plus seasons isn’t good enough. If this team is going anywhere, those guys have to look like difference-makers again.

Panarin instantly becomes the biggest name on the market. Nick Kypreos has already linked Carolina and Minnesota as possible fits, and both would absolutely be interested. Beyond that, the Rangers have been quietly trying to find interest in Brennan Othmann. He’s 22 now, a former 16th overall pick, but still stuck in the AHL three years later. That alone tells you something. Other teams have to be thinking the same.

If the Rangers somehow go on a run and climb back into solid playoff position, they’ll still need help. especially depth scoring and defense. But with cap limitations and the Panarin situation hanging over everything, any adds would almost certainly be short-term rentals, not splashy moves.

The next two months will define this franchise’s direction. Mike Sullivan is trying to install new systems and rebuild a culture that completely collapsed last season. The talent *is* there: Shesterkin is still elite, Panarin and Miller can score, and the Metro doesn’t have a true monster team running away with it.

But the clock is ticking.

Chris Drury has to decide whether this group can realistically contend or whether it’s time to step back, make hard calls, and reset. Every game between now and March 6 matters, not just for playoff positioning, but for determining whether the Rangers are buyers, sellers… or stuck in that miserable gray area again.

One thing is absolutely clear: if this team misses the playoffs *and* Panarin walks for nothing, that’s a fireable offense. No way around it.

The pressure is on. Everyone’s watching. And sooner or later, the Rangers have to pick a direction — because staying stuck in the middle isn’t one.