New York Rangers’ Early Number One Trade Need Is a Center – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

Even though the 2025 Trade Deadline is still four months away, it is never too early to look at what possible needs your team might be looking to fill as that day gets closer. While it seems like the New York Rangers might need another defenseman, that shouldn’t be their number-one priority. The position they need to focus on is center and although they have three legitimate centers on the team already, all three have been dealing with their own issues to start this season.

If the Rangers want to avoid not having enough center depth heading into the playoffs, then they are going to have to address this need in the four months leading up to the trade deadline.

Rangers Can’t Rely On Filip Chytil to Stay Healthy

Although this is tough to say, an injury to Filip Chytil was bound to happen at some point this season. With his vast injury history leading up to this campaign, it was almost a guarantee he would not be stay healthy enough to play all 82 games this season. That is truly is a shame because when he is healthy and playing at the top of his game, he is effective Arguably the Rangers’ best center so far this season, he has four goals and nine points in 15 games and has been part of the teams’ best line with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko on his wings. The issue for him was always going to be his health and he is once again out of the lineup.

Chytil was injured after accidentally colliding with teammate K’Andre Miller on Tuesday. He played one more shift after that hit, but has not played since. He has missed two games so far and many thought he was dealing with another concussion. However, the Rangers got some good news yesterday as it was reported that he met with specialists and it confirmed he was not dealing with a concussion; he will join the Rangers on their current western Canadian road trip. While this is great news, it also proves the point that the Rangers can’t rely on Chytil to stay healthy for the entire season and since they don’t have any center depth behind him, the need for a center grows more important each day.

Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad Getting Off to Slow Starts

Another reason why the Rangers should be going after a center is that their top two centers, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck, have both been underwhelming so far this season and have yet to truly play up to the level they have in seasons past. Zibanejad…