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The New York Rangers seemingly cannot let go of the prospect of acquiring Brady Tkachuk. New York has been interested in landing the star since the 2018 NHL draft. The Ottawa Senators selected the winger fourth overall that year. The Rangers would have loved to grab him at the time, but had to wait until the ninth pick to make their selection.
Six years after that draft, the New York Post claimed that the Rangers were targeting a mid-season trade for Tkachuk. The story obviously did not go down well with Senators’ owner Michael Andlauer. According to the businessman, the tabloid either made up the story or they were “being fed false information.” If the latter was true, Andlauer suggested that the Rangers, without specifically naming them, were guilty of “soft tampering.”
Although a trade did not materialize at the time, New York is once again being linked with Tkachuk. The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano and Peter Baugh have specifically named the star winger as a potential “big swing” candidate for the Rangers. New York is set to overhaul its roster in the coming weeks/months in a retooling effort. Veterans Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck are both likely to be moved in the near future.
While moves are coming, the Rangers do not want to start from scratch. Instead, GM Chris Drury is expected to bring in a new young star to take over. Tkachuk would likely be the exec’s top pick. “The 26-year-old winger plays the exact type of hard-nosed game Drury likes, with ample skill to boot,” wrote the aforementioned duo.
New York Rangers Hopes of Landing Brady Tkachuk Hinge on Senators Success
GettyThe Rangers would likely love to make Brady Tkachuk their new star.
As The Athletic points out, any move for Tkachuk is contingent on the Senators’ struggles to continue. Ottawa is currently bottom of the Atlantic Division with just 55 points in 52 games. The writers believe that if the Senators remain outside of the playoff place, the Rangers are sure to “inquire” about Tkachuk.
Sportsnet’s Alex Adams also addressed the situation on January 26. The reporter helped determine how Ottawa moves on if they keep struggling. If they do, Adams suggested that the club may be better off listening to trade offers for Tkachuk. “The Atlantic Division will only be getting better in the years to come,” admitted Adams. “Is it worth it to go all in for two seasons of Tkachuk when you aren’t necessarily even going to make the playoffs? Hard to say.”
Tkachuk has two more seasons remaining on his massive seven-year, $57.5 million contract with the Senators. If the team cannot turn things around, it appears fairly unlikely that the American winger would commit to another long-term deal to stay in Ottawa.
Rangers Have the Money, but Trade Would be Difficult
Although it may be a long shot, the Rangers would clearly love to be able to build around Tkachuk. New York could go through a retooling by essentially swapping older veterans for a star in his prime. Drury will also have plenty of money to work with to sort out his roster after the 2025-26 season. Ranger fans, however, may not have a ton of faith in the GM to make the correct moves.
As ESPN previously pointed out, Ottawa’s top prospects are mostly blueliners. Because of this, the team would likely want to add offense if they were to part ways with their captain. Alexis Lafreniere could be used as part of a potential deal. Nevertheless, Drury would have to get creative to include enough firepower for Ottawa to even think about trading Tkachuk.
Christopher Moore Christopher Moore has been a Heavy.com contributor since 2025. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has published thousands of articles reporting on multiple professional sports. He was previously a sports writer for World Soccer Talk, the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the Maryland Sports Blog. More about Christopher Moore
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