NHL Rumors: NY Rangers eyeing major offseason ‘shake up,’ names 3 ‘untouchable’ stars

The New York Rangers are not happy with the status quo.

Time does not appear to have softened general manager Chris Drury's displeasure with his team missing the playoffs a year after winning the Presidents' Trophy and coming within two wins of appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Drury has long been rumored to have a desire to shake up the core of the Rangers roster. With the offseason soon to be in full swing, that sentiment remains a major talking point around the league.

On Saturday, The Athletic's New York hockey columnist Arthur Staple shared some interesting tidbits on what he's hearing about the Rangers' offseason plans, including the only three players they consider untouchable. Staple posted the latest update on X (formerly Twitter).

"Heard around the NHL combine this week:— #NYR among a handful of teams (BUF, UTA, SEA) looking to shake up their roster soon— Shesterkin, Fox, and Panarin may be only #NYR untouchables in trade talk— Keep an eye on Vladislav Gavrikov and #NYR if Chris Drury can free up space," Staple wrote.

Artemi Panarin is entering the final season of the seven-year, $81,499,999 contract signed with the Rangers as a UFA in 2019. Meanwhile, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are both locked into long-term deals in New York for the foreseeable future.

This leaves a lot of Rangers in play on the trade market

With Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin being the only players viewed as untouchable in New York, that leaves plenty of talent available to be had for the right offer this summer.

Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, K'Andre Miller and even Alexis Lafreniere are among the names that could surface in the rumor mill throughout the next several weeks.

Kreider and Miller have been particularly speculated about and ranked near the top of trade targets boards by NHL insiders Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff and Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos.

While J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck were not listed as untouchables by Arthur Staple, it's very unlikely either one is moved unless Chris Drury is absolutely overwhelmed with an offer that he can't refuse. It's safe to assume that top prospect Gabe Perreault would also fall in this category.

As we've been saying for months now, the New York Rangers will be a fascinating team to keep an eye on as the 2025 NHL offseason gets going.