The Rangers will be aggressive with their newfound cap flexibility

The trade that sent forward Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday marked the end of an era in New York, as the team has prioritized shedding veterans on expensive contracts over the past seven months.

Kreider, a 13-year veteran, will look to bring his experience to a young Ducks team that’s trying to break through, while the Rangers are tasked with finding a way to usher in a new chapter of Stanley Cup contention in Manhattan.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and Insider and President of Hockey Content Frank Seravalli discussed the fallout from the Kreider trade and what general manager Chris Drury might do with the extra salary cap space.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I want to throw you one from a Rangers fan… With the flexibility the Rangers gained, do they go big game hunting or do they use that money to lock up their own guys?

Frank Seravalli: I think they’re definitely interested in trying to make their team a lot better by addition. Still to be determined, seems very likely at this point that K’Andre Miller is on the move as they reinvent their defense. Which top end defenseman are they going to go after? They have to find a way to defend better. I know there’s been lots of speculation about potential interest in Vladislav Gavrikov, which you could see making some sense on the left side. Short of that, I think they’re a team that doesn’t see any point in sitting back and just plodding along here. They want to move the needle. This is why they’re tearing down part of their core that’s been there for a long time… Just making the playoffs, just getting to the conference final, just winning the Presidents’ Trophy, that doesn’t mean anything to them. They want to win the Stanley Cup.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…