Is there only room for one high-scoring right winger in New York?
In a Wednesday column on ESPN.com, Sportscenter anchor John Buccigross mentioned hearing from a source he trusts that the Rangers were looking to trade Marian Gaborik to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Dan Boyle, a move that would reunite Blueshirts head coach John Tortorella with another one of his top players from the Tampa Bay Lightning team he guided to the Stanley Cup in 2004 (in addition to current Rangers center Brad Richards, '04 Lightning alumni Ruslan Fedotenko and Vinny Prospal have also played for Tortorella in New York).
It would be a slightly confusing move for the Rangers, since a lack of scoring was the Blueshirts' biggest problem in 2011-12, and sending away the team's top goal-scorer from last season (41 goals and 76 points) wouldn't seem to be a part of the solution. On the other hand, the Rangers have acquired Rick Nash and are expecting big things from Chris Kreider after a dynamic run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so they might be willing to part with Gaborik, who's a free agent in the summer of 2014. The move would also keep team captain Ryan Callahan among the team's top six forwards, which isn't necessarily good or bad. Callahan definitely plays with third-line grit, although as his career-high 29 goals and 54 points last season showed, he has top-six skills. There's a case to be made that the Rangers could handle the loss of Gaborik if there was something to be gained from it.
So, is there?
The addition of Boyle would also be a boost to the Rangers' power play, which has been an ever-present thorn in Tortorella's side. The Rangers have a great young emerging corps of defensemen in Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto, but of those four, Girardi and McDonagh are primarily shutdown types, and while Staal's all-around game has him pegged by some as a future Norris Trophy winner, only the young Del Zotto projects as a top offensive blueliner. The blueline group in general could likely benefit from the presence of an elder statesman type like Boyle as well, since Girardi is the oldest at 28.
The Rangers would likely free up some extra money with this kind of a deal as well, as Gaborik carries a $7.5 million cap hit, while Boyle is on the books for under $6.7 million per year. That might help with signing Shane Doan and keeping room for next summer, when the team will have to re-sign McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin as restricted free agents.
In three seasons on Broadway, Gaborik has delivered two 40-goal seasons, sandwiched around a 2010-11 campagin that was riddled by injury and struggles on the ice. There are few players in the NHL who can match his speed, but there could also be an argument for sending him packing. This could be a story worth following as the 2012-13 season approaches.
If, that is, it ever gets here.