San Jose, Ottawa, Los Angeles and Edmonton strike me as making the most sense for Georgiev.
San Jose may offer Labanc. They have little else of interest to trade. I would do that deal.
Edmonton would make sense. The Rangers would probably have to take back a contract and I am not sure how the Rangers view Edmonton's available players. Forget about getting someone like Nurse and Puljujarvi isn't a fair return. I don't know enough about their prospect pool but it seems thin.
LA and Ottawa have plenty of prospects.
Detroit also has a need but they are just getting their rebuild started and I have no idea what they would be willing to trade.
The Rangers are cognizant of the type of deal that they are making. The rentals, as we know are futures, and sometimes you get an NHL body coming back, but usually that's a guy that the other team doesn't want, or would be a cap casualty. Ala Spooner and Belesky in the Rick Nash trade.
But for a player in their prime, or about to enter their prime, who is cost controlled and can contribute to the other team, it absolutely has to be a hockey trade imo. So I agree, if it's SJ, the target is Labanc, or someone that they feel can play an effective NHL role right away. Labanc might require a add on the Rangers side, but I'll take it. You can sign Labanc to a multi-year deal and have him slot in the top six.
Same with trading Skjei, it has to be a hockey deal along the lines of, "We've got a bunch of defensemen, and need forwards, you've got a bunch of forwards, and need defensemen". You don't see that too often these days, but the Rangers can use their assets to backfill.
Defense is the toughest position in the game, but I believe with a more rigid system, and riding guys who are playing well, you can use the kids to get it done by committee on the left side.
