Rangers on the verge of pulling monster trade?

If the New York Rangers are indeed out of the Patrick Kane’s sweepstakes, it looks like they have already found a new target. According to insider Frank Seravalli, the Rangers have locked in on San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier.

Meier is one of the most coveted forwards reportedly available ahead of the March 3rd deadline. He a $6-million cap hit and will become a restricted free agent this summer. Meier’s qualifying offer will then be $10 million.

The Rangers might be favoured to pull this Meier deal off seing that Sharks general manager Mike Grier worked in the Rangers’ front office as a hockey operations advisor before taking over in San Jose this summer. He is also close friends with former Sabres teammate Rangers GM Chris Drury from their playing days in Buffalo in the mid-2000s.

However, the Blue Shirts aren’t the only ones with eyes on Meier. The New Jersey Devils are believed to be front-runners in landing the Sharks’ forward, but could face tough competition against the Rangers. As it stands now during the All-Star break, the Devils and Rangers would face each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Rangers hold two first-round picks in 2023 and could part with young forwards Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko, on top of an interesting pool of prospects headlined by 2021 first-rounder Brennan Othmann. They surely have the pieces to intrigue Grier and the Sharks.

The deadline cap space in New York is approximately $6.7 million, per Cap Friendly, and are likely to use that flexibility to win the Meier sweepstakes.

On Wednesday, an NHL executive revealed that a trade for Meier would probably need a similar return than what was sent to the Vancouver Canucks by the New York Islanders for Bo Horvat. The Canucks' captain was acquired in return for for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a protected 2023 first-round draft pick. That 2023 first-round pick becomes an unprotected 2024 first-rounder if the Islanders’ 2023 is in the top-12.

The Rangers might be on the verge of pulling monster trade to get their hands on Meier for a long playoff run.

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