The New York Rangers have entered the All-Star Break in a strong position as they find themselves atop the Metropolitan Division with a two-point gap on the second-place Carolina Hurricanes. While the All-Star Weekend wasn’t expected to be busy as teams take a break and try to get refreshed for the second half of the season, it was exactly the opposite. It started with the Calgary Flames trading Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks for a massive package including Andrei Kuzmenko. That was followed up by the news of the Los Angeles Kings relieving Todd McLellan of his duties as head coach, and the Montreal Canadiens trading Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets.
With three big names off the board now, the Rangers will still be looking to make the right moves to help themselves make a strong push for the Stanley Cup. There are still plenty of names that will be available to the Rangers leading up to the trade deadline and in this article, we will look at three players that the Rangers could still acquire.
Nic Dowd – Washington Capitals
The Rangers’ adding some depth up the middle would be ideal, and one name that could become available is Washington Capitals’ forward Nic Dowd. Dowd is a 33-year-old centreman from Huntsville, Alabama who stands 6-foot-2, 196 pounds, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at 198th overall. He is a strong two-way player who has been a massive part of the Capitals’ bottom six since joining them in the 2018-19 season.
The Capitals may try to make a push for a playoff spot over the next couple of weeks, but if they find themselves on the outside looking in before the trade deadline, they could look to sell off some assets. Dowd will be a player whom plenty of teams inquire about as he provides a ton to a team’s depth chart. He is in the second season of a three-year contract worth $1.3 million so he is a very affordable asset, even for teams who are struggling to find cap space.
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At the time of this article, Dowd has scored 65 goals and added 75 assists for 140 points through 474 games which comes out to a 0.30 points-per-game average. While his offensive game doesn’t stand out by any means, any team looking to add a strong defensive forward should be looking his way, and the Rangers should be all over him. A deal for Dowd…
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