NYR Untouchables

Since early February when it was discovered that Columbus was shopping Rick Nash, Ranger fans have been widely discussing exactly who on the Rangers should be deemed 'untouchable' in a trade. Before the trade deadline, many had wondered if it was going to take trading away a player like Kreider, the Rangers number 1 prospect in an all in push for the Stanley Cup. As we all know the Rangers came 6 wins shy of winning it all, Kreider's virtuoso performance in the playoffs quickly made him a star in the New York hockey scene and Rick Nash still sits unhappy in Columbus waiting to be dealt.

On every team there are roughly 5 players that GM's would be absolutely unwilling to include in any trade whatsoever. To me, the Rangers untouchable list right now includes Lundqvist, Richards, Callahan, McDonagh and Kreider. But as it stands right now there should be one more name on that list. To me, the sixth player on that list should be Derek Stepan, especially for any trade for Rick Nash and before you rip me to shreds, just hear me out.

I know of many who would say that Derek Stepan should not be the only thing that is holding up a trade to Columbus for Rick Nash. However the issue still remains, without Stepan the Rangers would have a very glaring hole on the second line. It would be a completely different story if the player you were trading for was another center, but since Nash does not play that position, Stepan is a deal-breaker. As far as your other options are concerned, Torts has Dubinsky over on the wing but if he is included in a potential Nash deal, that point is moot. This leaves you with Anisimov, Boyle and Halpern as your remaining centers and the latter two are penciled in on the bottom six. Anisimov would be a bad fit on a line with Kreider because like Gaborik, Kreider shouldn't be handling the puck before center ice. Anisimov doesn't make that accurate second pass to the open wingers the way Richards and Stepan do. Stepan and Kreider's style of play mesh so perfectly that Stepan centering a productive Kreider should make both of them 50-60 point players when the season starts up again.

The Rangers simply don't have anyone else that would be able to replace the skill-set Stepan possesses. Leave Stepan and Kreider alone on a line together and 10 years down the road you'll be happy the Rangers never broke them up.