With longtime Rangers pivot Derek Stepan preparing for his first season with the Arizona Coyotes, New York finds itself with a depth issue at centre. And general manager Jeff Gorton said he’s working the phones to see if the trade market presents a solution.
“We’re not the only team looking,” Gorton told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen on Friday.
New York has Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes in line to fill the top two spots, but it’s the third-line role at centre ice that appears to be in question. As the club begins its 2017 training camp, J.T. Miller looks to be the best option to slot into that role, though the 24-year-old brings limited experience.
“We’re comfortable with (Miller),” Gorton said. “We know he can play all three positions. He hasn’t played a lot of centre at the NHL level, but we know in the past in his career that he’s been able to do it, so pre-season we’ll take a look at him there and we’ll see where it goes.”
Miller broke out with a career-best 56-point effort for the Rangers last season, though he did so primarily as a winger. He’s tallied 22 goals in each of the past two seasons as well.
One potential trade chip Gorton might have at his disposal is veteran defenceman Marc Staal. The rearguard is one of a number of NHL-calibre Rangers blueliners fighting for spots during camp. That surplus might allow Gorton some wiggle room to address other organizational needs.
“If it looks like we have nine or 10 NHL defensemen that’s going to be good for us,” Gorton told Rosen. “It means we’ll have six really good ones, seven really good ones here and we’ll see what we can do with the other ones. Whether they go to Hartford or whether we have to move somebody, those are all situations that are going to play out in the next three to four weeks.”
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