Trade Pitch Has Rangers Acquiring $36 Million Stanley Cup Champion Defenseman

The New York Rangers are in their Stanley Cup window and one trade pitch has them bolstering their defensive unit.

The website PuckPedia has a new tool called PuckGM that lets users create their own trades and one user proposed a deal that would see the Rangers acquire Shea Theodore as part of a package in a blockbuster deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Rangers get:

• Shea Theodore
• Grigori Denisenko

Golden Knights get:

• Reilly Smith
• Braden Schneider
• 2025 first-round pick

The proposed deal is interesting as the Rangers go all-in to try and win the Stanley Cup, while Vegas gets younger and a first-round pick which is what the Golden Knights need.

Theodore is entering the final year of his seven-year $36.4 million deal and has spent the last seven years with Vegas. He was a key part of the Golden Knights team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Last season, he skated in 47 games recording 5 goals and 37 assists for 42 points.

Denisenko, meanwhile, was a first-round pick in 2018 by the Florida Panthers. But, he has struggled to be a full-time NHL player. He’s skated in 32 NHL games recording 0 goals and 7 assists but he could add some depth to the bottom of the lineup.

Schneider, meanwhile, is 22 and was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NHL draft. The defenseman would replace Theodore, who is a solid second-pairing NHL defenseman.

Smith, meanwhile, was acquired this offseason by New York to add some offense, but the trade pitch already moves him back to Vegas where he helped the team win the Cup in 2022.

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Rangers GM Hinted at Major Shakeup This Offseason

The Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.

New York is a legit Stanley Cup contending team, but after falling short again, Rangers general manager Chris Drury hinted at making a major change this offseason.

“We’re looking at a lot of different things,” Drury said on June 7. “And there’s different ways to get to where we want to go. To me, really, nothing’s off the table. We’re trying to be better. We’re trying, as I said, to reach the ultimate goal here. In the middle of that process now and trying to figure out what’s next and what can we do to be better.”

In the offseason, New York traded for Smith and signed Sam Carrick as it was a quiet offseason for the Rangers.

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Golden Knights Lose Star Players

Vegas had a difficult offseason as the Golden Knights lost star players Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and Alec Martinez in free agency. Vegas also lost William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Anthony Mantha.

After losing several key players, Vegas’ general manager Kelly McCrimmon said it was a tough opening day of free agency.

“Days like this are tough for fans,” McCrimmon said on July 1. “The fans think they know our players and I know our players better than our fans do. I’ve got relationships with each of these guys. You have to respect their rights as unrestricted free agents that’s the collective bargaining agreement. We didn’t trade these players, we tried to retain them.”

Vegas was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Dallas Stars last season.

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