New York Rangers Reportedly Planning to Trade Player Only Days After Acquiring Him
The New York Rangers parted ways with former second overall pick Kaapo Kakko last week, in exchange for Will Borgen. The defenseman may already be on his way out.
The Kaapo Kakko trade exemplified a difficult situation for the New York Rangers, as they continue to fall apart on and off the ice.
The team has no direction, will likely miss the playoffs, and have ruined the development of several young top prospects (Kakko, Lias Andersson (7th overall), Vitali Kravstov (9th overall), and more).
Having acquired Will Borgen from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Kakko (along with some draft picks), the Rangers added a consistent player on their blue line, but it appears the relationship between the two parties will be short lived.
Per Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston, the defenseman is on the trade block ahead of the deadline, and two frontrunners have emerged in the sweepstakes.
The Rangers just acquired Borgen, but he's a pending unrestricted free agent and unless New York can somehow stop the bleeding and turn around its season, the Blueshirts will be sellers and open to flipping him. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound Borgen would fit nicely in South Florida.
I think in many ways, pending unrestricted free agent David Savard is a more obvious fit for the Panthers given his past relationship in Columbus with Panthers general manager Bill Zito, and it wouldn't surprise me if Florida tried for Savard if it's looking for a rental, right-shot D with some physicality who won't break the bank.
But Borgen would be the more under-the-radar move if indeed the Rangers decide to make him available.
The Panthers are looking for a Stanley Cup repeat, but having lost Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour last off-season, they need all the help they can get.
The Canucks have struggled since losing Filip Hronek to a significant lower-body injury earlier this month, and they're not expecting him to play again before February.
That's exposed a gaping need on the right side of the blue line that management has aggressively been trying to address.
Enter Borgen, who excels in the less-celebrated parts of the game like penalty killing, which Vancouver can certainly use.
The stay-at-home defender is a good skater who should be able to step into a second pairing on a team and brings the kind of size teams view as an added plus come playoff time.
Borgen will have plenty of suitors ahead of the deadline, but there may not be anyone more motivated to pursue him than Vancouver.
The Canucks have other issues to resolve, but bringing in players like Borgen won't hurt the team as they look to solidify themselves in a playoff spot.
We will see what's next for Will Borgen, but it seems that his time on the Rangers' sinking ship is nearly over.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 27 | 171 ANSWERS New York Rangers Reportedly Planning to Trade Player Only Days After Acquiring Him Do you think the New York Rangers made a mistake with the Kaapo Kakko trade? | ||
| Yes | 122 | 71.3 % |
| No | 49 | 28.7 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jake Guentzel | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Sam Reinhart | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Mark Scheifele | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Filip Forsberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Morgan Geekie | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cale Makar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Paul | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| John-Jason Peterka | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Darren Raddysh | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Andrew Peeke | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 62 | 42 | 16 | 4 | 88 | |
Capitals | 62 | 40 | 14 | 8 | 88 | |
Stars | 61 | 40 | 19 | 2 | 82 | |
Golden Knights | 61 | 37 | 18 | 6 | 80 | |
Maple Leafs | 62 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 79 | |
Panthers | 62 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 79 | |
Lightning | 61 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 76 | |
Hurricanes | 62 | 36 | 22 | 4 | 76 | |
Wild | 62 | 36 | 22 | 4 | 76 | |
Oilers | 61 | 35 | 22 | 4 | 74 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||