The New York Rangers have been the team to beat for most of the 2023-24 season up until now. The Ottawa Senators obliterated the Rangers on Tuesday (Dec. 5) in a 6-2 loss and will be looking to bounce back from what should be chalked up as a bad game. Without a doubt, the Rangers will be going all-in for a Stanley Cup this season and will make the appropriate moves to better their chances of a deep run in the playoffs, and there might be some players they opt to move to free up some cap space if they’re underperforming near the deadline.
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Barclay Goodrow is a bottom-six forward with the Rangers and at the age of 30, he should still have some productive seasons left in him. This season, however, he has not been great offensively and his defensive play has taken a step back as well. In 23 games this season, he has one goal and two assists for three points, and while he’s never been a huge offensive producer, this is a massive step back in pace from the 31 points he had last season.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Rangers tried to trade Goodrow near the deadline when teams have accrued enough cap space to make it work. It’s important to note he does have a 15-team no-trade list and while that list isn’t public knowledge, some teams could use his services more than the Rangers can. Assuming he would be willing to work with the Rangers on a trade, here are three trade partners in a potential Goodrow deal.
Calgary Flames
The first team that could use Goodrow’s services is the Calgary Flames. They wanted to continue contending last season after the monster Matthew Tkachuk trade sent their star player to the Florida Panthers, and after losing Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency. The Flames went out and signed forward Nazem Kadri to a massive long-term contract and acquired Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar from the Panthers making them a very scary team on paper, but so far they haven’t been living up to expectations.
The Flames haven’t gone into panic mode just yet, but trading away Nikita Zadorov for close to nothing means they are willing to listen on just about anyone, and make moves as they see fit. If they are willing to buy at or near the deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising if they took a run at Goodrow to bolster their center depth.
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Their current fourth-line center is Adam Ruzicka who has been good, but I think the Flames would rather have a more grizzled veteran with Stanley Cup experience in the lineup over him, especially if they still think there is a chance of making the playoffs this season. Any trade with the Flames would have to wait until the deadline once they’ve accrued enough cap space to make this deal work, as they don’t have much money to work with at the moment.
Ottawa Senators
While the Ottawa Senators haven’t necessarily been bad to start the 2023-24 season, they still sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a 10-10-0 record. They would likely prefer to contend this season rather than sell off their assets at the trade deadline, but they’ll need a miracle if they want to become a playoff team anytime soon. While they refuse to fire their coach, which they should have done a long time ago, adding a veteran like Goodrow could help boost the morale of the team and potentially improve their bottom-six.
Similar to the Flames, any deal between the Rangers and Senators would have to wait until the deadline when there’s a bit more cap flexibility. If the Senators wanted Goodrow, it may take a lot of moving parts to make his contract fit into their roster, but he is definitely a player they could use as a team that is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have been underwhelming to start their 2023-24 campaign. They currently sit at 9-10-4 and have recently chosen to replace their former head coach Dean Evason with John Hynes. While that one change seems to be working for them, they still haven’t been playing their best and could use some extra firepower if they want any chance of competing this season.
If Goodrow was interested in joining the Wild, he could be a good locker room guy that helps boost morale and brings some extra grit to their bottom-six. If the Wild don’t end up contending this season, Goodrow could be leaned on as a leader for their young guys as they attempt to retool the roster.
The Rangers are a Stanley Cup favorite this season and they have shown exactly why with their red-hot start to the new season. If they choose to go all-in at the trade deadline, Goodrow may end up being one of the players the team moves to free up a little bit of cap space. Hopefully, whatever they decide to do works and the Rangers can make a push for the Stanley Cup this season.
