Jeff Gorton is not seeking a rebuild for the Rangers, but rather what multiple individuals within the industry have categorized as a “reset” following the 2015-16 Last Ride that ended bloody with that five-game, first-round, face wash by Pittsburgh.
But the counterintuitive reality confronting Gorton is that in order to give the Rangers a face lift on the fly that will afford the team a chance to contend for a Stanley Cup in Henrik Lundqvist’s age 34/35 season, the general manager is going to have to be willing to trade two or three of his best players — we’re talking Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Kevin Klein — in order to get it done.