The Rangers’ injury mess has them in a spot where a goalie trade is at least worth kicking around, and the Kraken are the kind of partner that makes the idea feel almost too neat.
Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury left New York juggling a thin goaltending picture, with 3 of its top 5 goalies by depth chart position now hurt. That forces a simple but uncomfortable question: do the Rangers trust their 3rd and 5th string options for the long haul, or do they go shopping for an NHL-caliber answer before the season slips?
The mock deal on the table sends Philipp Grubauer, a 1st round draft pick, a 2nd round draft pick in the 2027 NHL draft, and Oscar Fisker Molgaard to New York for Alexis Lafreniere.
For Seattle, the attraction starts with Lafreniere’s fit. The Kraken still have a left-wing problem in the offensive scheme, and that remains true even with their strong start.
Lafreniere has long been one of the Rangers’ better possession-driving forwards, even if the goal totals have lagged behind the pedigree of a former #1 overall pick. The argument here is simple: he’d give Jason Botterill a player who can step right into the top 6 and bring the kind of impact the Kraken have been getting from their third-line play over the last three years.
And because Lafreniere is locked in for 5 more seasons at $7.45 million per year, Seattle could fit him into its cap structure this year and next as the ceiling rises.
The Rangers’ side is built around solving an immediate problem with a veteran who’s playing well right now. Dylan Garand has been fine, but if his performance drops, New York could be in real trouble.
Grubauer, meanwhile, is in something of a career revival, is on an expiring contract, and would give the Rangers a seasoned presence in net. The move would also bring Seattle’s 1st round pick back to a club that needs to keep adding to its prospect pool after making it clear the rebuild/retool/rehash is going to be handled aggressively.
Molgaard would add a younger forward option who could help now as depth.
That said, there are obvious reasons this never gets off the ground.
First, the Rangers have not exactly looked like a team desperate enough to pay that kind of price for goaltending. They are 6-2-0 as of this writing, and Garand has posted a .951 SV% through 4 games while losing only once. Maybe the numbers are riding high and maybe they come back to earth, but New York clearly has some confidence in what it’s getting in net right now.
Seattle has its own reasons to hold firm. The price tag is heavy for a scoring upgrade that might have been cheaper if the Rangers had been in freefall last year.
The Kraken are also likely riding their own hot streak and may prefer to keep their pick in reserve in case things turn. Grubauer’s situation adds another wrinkle: he has a 10-team no trade clause, he’s producing a .918 SV% through 3 games, and he appears to be settled in Seattle.
He even took a minority stake in a brewery in town, which makes yanking him out of the Pacific Northwest feel even less likely.
So yes, the fit makes sense on paper. The Rangers need help in goal, the Kraken need offense, and both sides have pieces the other could use. But the price is steep, both teams are playing well enough to hesitate, and Grubauer’s Seattle roots make the whole thing harder to pull off.
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Ottavinens rapid rise has been one of the more notable developments so far, and it adds another layer to a trip that is already giving the Kraken a useful early read on their depth. The challenge now is whether this start can hold up as the road trip continues, because the opening stretch has been strong enough to raise expectations and sharp enough to demand a bigger test. [Read more 🡒]