NXT vs TNA World’s Collide Dream PPV

After seeing the 25 men battle royal this past Tuesday featuring stars from NXT, WWE, and TNA, and with AEW’s Forbidden Door coming up, I want to see what it would be like to have a dream ppv competing against Forbidden Door. NXT would bring back World’s Collide and compete against TNA in 2 nights. One night in NXT Performance Center, and one night in the TNA Impact Zone. I am including current champions of each brand as of this date being posted. Here is my dream World’s Collide PPV NXT vs TNA with the predicted results.

NXT/Night 1:

*Tony D’Angelo vs Trent Seven for Heritage Cup: Trent Seven becomes the new Heritage Cup Champion

*Ethan Page vs Jonathan Gresham: Ethan Page wins

*Return of NXT Women’s Tag Title in a Tornado tag team eliminator match- Meta Four (Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson) vs Natalya and Karmen Petrovic vs Decay (Rosemary and Havok) vs Malisha (Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich) vs Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat) vs Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx: Meta-Four wins the NXT Womens Tag Team Titles

*Kehlani Jordan vs Ash by Elegance for NXT North American Champion: Kehlani Jordan retains

*Trick Williams vs Moose (Champion vs Champion): Moose wins

TNA/Night 2:

*Frankie Kazarian vs Lexis King vs Joe Hendry vs Shawn Spears: Joe Hendry wins

*Wes Lee vs Zachary Wentz: Wes Lee Wins

*Chase U (Ridge Holland and Duke Hudson) vs The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards) for TNA World Tag Team Champion: The System retains

*Gallus vs Hardys and Rhino in a Hardy Compound Match: Hardys and Rhino win

*Jordynne Grace vs Roxanne Perez for TNA Knockouts Champion: Jordynne Grace retains

NEVER QUIT METS

By Mark Halpern

Being a sports fan in New York is tough. New York fans are spoiled because we only expect the best even though we all come back for more. New York teams can spend money, have the right advertisers, have a huge pavilion that is predicted to open (between 2027-2028) with hotels that can see into the stadium and you could watch from the comfort of your room. However, the current Mets don’t really see themselves as a bad team and they really aren’t. Are they a top tiered team this season? The answer is NO because the rotation has been pieced together with what they were willing to bring in. However, this rotation has fought hard and well and you have to credit the work of Manea, Severino and Quintana holding the rotation together. With brilliant work by David Stearns with the help of the rest of the Mets front office, the Mets are making the case for big time free agents next year to take notice.

   Over the last 20 games the Mets are 14-6 and they have done this against some decent competition including the Padres, whom the Mets completed a sweep of on Sunday. The Mets Lineup has kept them in games this year and since moving Francisco Lindor to the leadoff spot the offense has taken off. This team has had a rough go but, are in no way out of the playoffs. Right now, if the season were to end the Mets would be on the outside looking in but, we aren’t even at the end of June. The next month will determine what the Mets could do at the trade deadline. If they decide to buy it could cost them some big prospects such as Baty, Vientos and there’s been speculation on Pete Alonso, but if the Mets are buying they’re not moving him and in my opinion he will be extended by Cohen and Stearns. But there’s the other side of the spectrum and if the Mets falter and decide to sell what becomes of Alonso, Severino, Quintana, Ottavino, etc…

   Currently the Mets sit 1.5 games out  of the wild card spot so don’t rule them out. The slow start hasn’t helped at all but, things are on the uptick. This Mets team is fun to watch and is all about the team. Lindor has turned his season around and with the power of Alonso hopefully coming around, which will be a nice sight and the return of Francisco Alvarez will help the lineup. But guys like Harrison Bader, Tyrone Taylor  and Luis Torrens have made terrific contributions. The health of Starling Marte has also been valuable for this lineup. 

   We saw what Steve Cohen did last year at the trade deadline where he ate the money on the contracts of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for better prospects. If the Mets are in the race at the deadline, with Cohen having the money he does and David Stearns in charge, who knows what the Mets could be if they continue to play like this, but the next month will decide their fate.

BEING THE FACE OF A LEAGUE IS HARD

By Mark Halpern

     Just about every sport has a face of the league that is chosen not only by the fans by analysts and coaches, players too. For Caitlin Calrk she didn’t ask for this honor but, has taken it with a grain of salt and has had to put on her best face no matter what the situation is. Let’s face it even the best gets beaten once and awhile.

     The face of a League comes with more responsibility than one person really wants to take on both physical and mentally. Caitilin Clark wasn’t chosen by her color, race/religion or just talent alone. A players off time is closely watched as we have seen with changes to social media. You get in trouble with Federal/State/County police it goes into bad publicity for the league and I am sure against any deal you have in place. A ton of players don’t want the off-court Paparazzi when they are having bad moments. I understand this trust me and no matter what they do whether the Greatness they show on the Court or the Horrors we learn through a simple misunderstanding to Felonies that this particular player would rather the rest of the world knows about it.

    The WNBA has a lot of great talent whether current players now to the greats like Lisa Leslie of the past. It’s never about one person such as Michael Jordan, Pattrick Mahomes, Caitilin Clark or Derek Jeter and these players know as the face of an entire league. Hese players are willing to make sure they live a Clean and non-Hazardous life style so that means NO Bad Publicity whatsoever or you can lose not only your career but players around you as well.

   One particular person who would love this honor but, only if she could write the conditions to what she wants it to be like is Angel Reese. There is no clear question as she is a dam good Basketball player. She has shown throughout her college career and almost half way through her rookie season why she is such a good player. Reese plays hard every single night she is active. She makes plenty of good plays and is a good teammate but she has a bad attitude and causes more problems than the league would like but sometimes even the troubled are good too. Reese has battled Clark through out college and again in just the beginning of this year’s league and when the two of them face off people are watching. Reese stands out because she chooses to and that’s her own fault because there is not a day she is not in the news/social media for some wrong reason on her end. This is the difference.

   The WNBA has been losing close to $10 million a year over the last 4 years and close to $50 million this year alone and the question is why? The sport is popular to watch for not just girls but everyone. Women’s sports have been gaining more and more attention but still not brining in bigger advertisers and better ratings to get this league into the non-negative balance sheet it has. With this years rookie class and what’s in the league now I believe that this League will turn it around on both ends of the court. There can be plenty of voices in a league and many players can reach the top but, there can be only one Face.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling 6/14/2024

By Jeff Knapp

Before anything, I’d love to give a special acknowledgement to NXT’s Kelani Jordan on becoming the 1st NXT Women’s North American Champion at NXT Battleground.

Speaking of Battleground, congratulations to Trick Williams, Roxanne Perez and Oba Femi on retaining their respective championships.

News coming out of the WWE is that Ricochet has informed officials that when his contract is up that he will not be returning. Just like anything in wrestling, take everything with a grain of salt. The IWC will already be fantasy booking and I’m sure him vs Will Ospreay will be the 1st match they choose if he really does leave and goes to AEW.

When one person leaves, that opens the door for another to come in. The rumor is that one time NJPW IWGP and STRONG Tag Team Champion and STRONG Openweight Champion, Hikuleo will be coming to the WWE. Hikuleo is the son of Haku. I’m sure he’ll be a part of the Bloodline at some point along with Jacob Fatu.

On Wednesday it was announced that the WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH that they will be making a “major announcement” at the NOAH Grand Ship 2024 show in Yokohama, Japan this Sunday, June 16, 2024. From NOAH’s official X page: “A MAJOR announcement from NOAH & WWE will be made at our Yokohama BUNTAI event on Sunday,” the announcement read. “A message from a certain wrestler will also be released!”

Although there is no release date as of this writing, Hulk Hogan is releasing his own brand of beer. It will be called Real American Beer and will be available at several retail partners including ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Albertsons, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Total Wine & More and Walmart. You can also go to https://therealamerican.com/pages/beer for more information.

Former head of TNA Scott D’Amore is reportedly being paid by Anthem/TNA through February 2025 with a no compete clause with that stipulation. So it appears that we could hopefully see him back with the WWE, AEW or NWA (if they were smart) in March of 2025.

TNA’s Against All Odds PPV is Friday from Chicago. Below is the card for the show:

* Pre-show: TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defend against Allysin Kay & Marti Belle
* Pre-show: Sami Callihan vs. Jonathan Gresham

* TNA World Champion Moose defends against Matt Hardy in a Broken Rules match
* TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends in an open challenge
* TNA Tag Team Champions Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards defend against Nic Nemeth & Ryan Nemeth
* TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Trent Seven
* PCO vs. Rich Swann
* Mike Santana & Steve Maclin vs. Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz
* Josh Alexander & Eric Young vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey
* Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian

Roll Call of Current Champions from Around The Wrestling World

WWE

Undisputed WWE Champion – Cody Rhodes

World Heavyweight Champion – Damian Priest

World Tag Team Champions – The Miz & R-Truth

WWE Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory

WWE Women’s Champion – Bayley

Women’s World Champion – Liv Morgan

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Sami Zayn

NXT

NXT Championship- Trick Williams

NXT Women’s Champion – Roxanne Perez

North American Champion – Oba Femi

Tag Team Champions – Nathan Frazer & Axiom

Heritage Cup – “The Don of NXT” Tony D’Angelo

AEW

AEW World Champion – Swerve Strickland

TNT Champion – VACANT

AEW Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

TBS Champion – Mercedes Mone

AEW World Tag Team Champions – Young Bucks

AEW & ROH Unified Trios Champions – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Austin & Colton Gunn)

AEW International Champion – Will Ospreay                                             

AEW Continental Champion – Kazuchika Okada

TNA

World Champion – Moose

X Division – Mustafa Ali

Tag Team Champions – The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers)

Digital Media Champion – AJ Francis

Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

Knockouts Tag Champions – The System (Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich)

ROH

ROH World Champion – Mark Briscoe

ROH TV Champion – Kyle Fletcher

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Women’s TV Champion – Billie Starkz

NWA

NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Joe Alonzo

NWA National Champion – Thom Latimer

NWA Mid America Heavyweight Champion – Jeremiah Plunkett

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – VACANT

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee)

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Jon Moxley

IWGP Global Heavyweight – David Finley

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – Sho

Strong Openweight Champion – Gabe Kidd

IWGP Television Champion – Jeff Cobb

IWGP Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Shingo Takagi

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Los Ingobernables de Japón  (Yota Tsuji, Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi)

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

Strong Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer (Shared with Stardom)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – Nic Nemeth

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Averno

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Los Bárbaros (Dragon Rojo Jr., Bárbaro Cavernario & El Terrible)

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Stephanie Vaquer and Zeuxis

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie IC title) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – Fukuoka Double Crazy (Hazuki and Koguma)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Empress Nexus Venus (Maika, Mina Shirakawa & Xena)

High Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Saya Kamitani

Good News, Bad News

By Mike Rifkin

The good news for the Edmonton Oilers was they showed a pulse in the third period of game three of the Stanley Cup Final by scoring two goals, the bad news is they still lost 4-3 to the Panthers to trail the series 3-0. The Oilers three goals in game three was the most they’ve had in a game this series. 

Connor McDavid had two assists in the game, giving him three points in the series (all assists).  McDavid hasn’t scored a goal since game six of the Western Conference Finals against the Stars. Leon Draisaitl doesn’t have a point in the series and he hasn’t scored a goal since game five against Dallas. Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also have been held without points in this series. This group has combined for 35 goals and 98 points in the playoffs. If the Oilers are going to make this a series they need at least one of these guys to have a fantastic game in game four. The good news for the Oilers is this series isn’t over, but the bad news is they’re on the brink of getting swept.

Blues Announce Management Plans for Future

By Nathan Moser

The St. Louis Blues’ future at general manager has officially been mapped out for the organization and the fanbase. The team announced that current GM Doug Armstrong, who has been in his role since the 2010-11 NHL season, signed a two-year contract extension and will leave the role in 2026. In addition, former Blues forward Alex Steen will become the new GM starting in 2026 and will be special assistant to Armstrong for the two seasons leading up to that promotion.

It is great to have the future set in stone for any organization. Not having a plan in place can sometimes have a negative effect on a team, but the Blues fans will not have to worry about any of that now. Armstrong deserves credit for being able to stay the GM for as long as he says. It is difficult to win in the league but Armstrong has managed the Blues well and constructed the roster that won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Steen has already seen how Armstrong operates having been a Blue for so much of his on-ice career. He spent parts of 12 campaigns in St. Louis as a player and racked up 496 points for them, which ranked him sixth all-time in Blues scoring. His 195 goals rank him tenth all-time in goals and his 301 assists put him sixth all-time for the franchise in that category. He is one of the best to ever suit up for the organization and soon he will be helping craft the future of that same club.

The Armstrong-Steen management group has work to get done soon though. Things have not been as positive since the team won the Cup in 2019. Former head coach Craig Berube was fired, and they recently hired Drew Bannister to be the permanent replacement after being interim the rest of 2023-24. What roster moves are going to be made this offseason? Do the Blues try to re-sign any of the possible unrestricted free agents? Time is ticking on that front. The free agency period opens on July 1. Does Kaspari Kapanen, Sammy Blais, and Marco Scandella all leave? There has also been talk about Pavel Buchnevich being someone who could be traded. Does that happen, or does he don the Blues sweater come the fall? Armstrong has the responsibility to teach Steen and help set the roster up for 2026. Both men have plenty of time to get things taken care of before Armstrong leaves the GM position.

The next chapter of the Blues will be written. How successful it will depends on what three men in Armstrong, Steen, and Bannister are able to accomplish. Since winning the Cup in 2019, the Blues have lost a couple first-round series, and the last time they made the postseason was 2021-22. They made it to the second round of the 2022 playoffs but were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche. They have missed the postseason in both 2023 and 2024. Wrapping up the 2023-24 campaign, St. Louis finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a record of 43-33-6 for 92 points. Armstrong, Steen, and the rest of the managerial staff will have some work to do in order to get the roster back in shape to make a run at the postseason again. With the management plan in place, now the only thing left to do is watch what they do and see what results follow.

HE RUNS THE SHOW

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Yes it is June and football season is still a few months away, but Mandatory mini camps have begun this week. This is where the team meets for the last time before training camp and begins their grind to win a Super Bowl. Usually most players attend mini camp, now we have seen guys not participate due to injury or contract negotiations. But that’s not the case for Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

According to the Jets Rodgers told them he wouldn’t be attending mini camp due to an “event that’s important to him.” Head Coach Robert Saleh said “ Aaron and I spoke before OTAs started. He’s been very good with communication, he’s been here the whole time. It’s inexcused, but he had an event that’s very important to him, which he communicated.” Saleh also added that Rodgers is subject to a fine for missing camp. Now the event has still not been disclosed and we may never know what it is, people will ask does it matter if Rodgers missing mini camp matters and while most people will say no, it does matter for a few reasons. 

The biggest reason this matters actually came from Rodgers in January where he discussed the team’s culture. Rodgers said “Anything in this building that we’re doing that has nothing to do with winning has to be assessed.” Rodgers added there’s bull**** that needs to be cut out. Again we don’t know what the event is, but does skipping minicamp for an event sound like something that has to do with winning? 

In my opinion there’s not a team in the NFL under more pressure this season than the New York Jets. They have the longest current playoff drought of any team in the NFL at 13 seasons. When the Jets acquired Rodgers they thought they’d be competing for a Super Bowl, well last year that dream got snatched from them four snaps into their season as Rodgers tore his achilles and missed the season. But that didn’t come without distractions from Rodgers himself who kept telling people he was trying to get back in case the team was in contention for a playoff spot, and in my opinion it was a disservice to the Quarterback Zach Wilson. 

Saleh said today “Aaron and I are on the exact same page. There’s no issue between Aaron or his teammates, for that matter. We addressed it. It’s more of an issue for everyone outside the building than it is inside.” Of course it is because Aaron Rodgers is running the show here. When the Jets bent over backwards for the four time MVP winner, they gave him control of everything. By the way Saleh has to say it because he hasn’t won anything since taking over the team. He’s 18-33 as the Jets head coach, and got a benefit of the doubt for last year since Rodgers got injured. We know that if the Jets don’t win in 2024 Rodgers, Saleh along with GM Joe Douglas will all be out in Florham Park. 

Yes, it’s June and the regular season doesn’t start for a couple of months, but Aaron Rodgers, like he has the last year and a half, is doing whatever he wants. And if the Jets don’t win this year the Rodgers experiment along with everything else they’ve done for him will blow up in their face. But hey at least you’ll get the year and a half of a future Hall of famer. All that matters here is winning.

Bobrovsky Continues Proving Doubters Wrong in 2024 Stanley Cup Final

By Nathan Moser

The first two games of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final are in the books. If the hockey world voted on who they believed should be the current leader in the Conn Smythe Trophy voting, Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky would be winning that vote. He has been absolutely dominant in net and he has stifled the Edmonton Oilers’ offense to just one goal in two Cup Final games. Connor McDavid has been held to just one assist, and despite his offensive skills like skating and puck-handling, Bobrovsky has stopped him every step of the way so far.

This is the type of play that the Panthers wanted out of Bobrovsky when they signed him to a seven-year contract with them back in 2019 free agency. He had already put up significant numbers, such as being a two-time Vezina Trophy winner before as well as leading the NHL in shutouts for 2018-19. However, there was a time since he had joined Florida that the contract looked like a mistake. The Panthers have been paying him each season as one of the best in the league, and there were times when those results did not make the deal he signed. He was not living up to making $10 million a season for them. This was frustrating for management and the fanbase when the Panthers were not getting the right amount of solid play from him to justify the contract. Trying to get rid of him was going to be hard if they went down that route, given that the contract was monstrous.

Fortunately for the Panthers and their fans, they did not part ways with the 35-year-old netminder as he has been phenomenal for them in the crease. Even before getting to this playoff run specifically, the man they call “Bob,” had a tremendous 2021-22 season. He put up a record of 39-7-3 in 54 games played. He has not stopped making an impact, as Bobrovsky has been a significant part of Florida’s run to the Cup Final for the second time in a row. As the stats stand right now, Bobrovsky has a 2024 postseason record of 14-5. His goals-against average (GAA) so far is 2.02, while his save percentage (SV%) is currently .916. He also has two shutouts on this playoff run, including in Game One of the Cup Final when the Panthers beat the Oilers 3-0.

Many people in the hockey world had their doubts at times with Bobrovsky on the Panthers. There were times when I thought Florida was going to move in another direction and feel strong enough about it that they would retain half of his salary. He has proven the doubters wrong and should be the top choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy if he continues to be a brick wall in net for them.

Florida is only halfway there though, and they have had the benefit of playing the first two games of the series at home. Now, they head to Edmonton to take on the Oilers in Games Three and Four. Playing in front of the Oiler faithful might be a harder task, but Bobrovsky and the rest of the Panthers will make a huge difference if they can skate away with at least one win while in the province of Alberta.

Speaking of the rest of the Panthers, the group in front of Bob deserves credit for helping him out as well. Longtime NHL head coach Paul Maurice has put together a game plan that the rest of the roster has executed well. They make Bob’s job easier. Forwards like Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, and Evan Rodrigues (specifically in this series) have been carrying some of the offense. Meanwhile, the defense held down the fort in front of Bobrovsky on this run. Gutsav Forsling, Brandon Montour, Aaron Ekblad, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, and Dmitry Kulikov have done what they can to result in only one Oiler goal so far in this series. To do that to an Oiler team that has McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Evander Kane, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins among others is impressive. The team in front of Bob deserves its fair share of credit. Bobrovsky, the last line of defense for this Florida squad, has just managed to stand out the most. When all is said and done and the Cup is officially won, I think Bobrovsky skates away with the Conn Smythe Trophy. He has stood on his head throughout the playoffs, has played a massive role in helping shut down other star players, and he is a matchup nightmare for all opposing offenses. The Oilers have a little bit of time to plan out their next attack before Game Three. They need to execute it almost to perfection. If they are not successful and Bobrovsky and the Panthers take Game Three, that may basically be a wrap for this Cup Final series.

Loyalty

By Mike Rifkin

On Monday it was announced that UCONN coach Dan Hurley turned down an offer to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers reportedly offered Hurley a six year contract worth 70 million dollars. Had he taken the offer Hurley would’ve been one of the highest paid NBA coaches. 

The Lakers job is not the only one that Hurley turned down. Earlier in the offseason he turned down the opportunity to replace John Calipari at the University of Kentucky. Hurley decided staying at UCONN and try to win a third consecutive National Championship is more important than the money. We live in an era of sports that says money is the root of most things, but for Danny Hurley bringing UCONN back to a national powerhouse has mattered more and shows a great deal of loyalty in a sport that sees a lot of turnover. 

Winging It

By Mike Rifkin

When the Rangers were eliminated by the Florida Panthers, one thing became crystal clear, they needed a top line right winger to play with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. At his end of season press conference GM Chris Drury discussed looking at internal and external options to play the right side, so let’s deep dive on some of the potential targets. 

Internal 

Filip Chytil : Now this depends on where the organization sees Chytil playing after his injury derailed his regular season. But if you go back and watch the Panthers series the Zibanejad Kredier duo had their best games with Chytil playing on the right side. 

Alexis Lafreniere : The former first overall pick had a career year with 28 goals and 57 points playing with Artemi Panarin. While Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere was the Rangers’ most consistent line all season (including playoffs) maybe tinkering Lafreniere with Zibanejad and Kreider in training camp is something you see. 

Kaapo Kakko – Kakko started the season as the right winger on this line, but a knee injury made Kakko miss 21 games. The Rangers have been waiting on the former second overall pick to produce in a big way, and that has yet to come. Now there’s also a chance Kakko isn’t on the roster as his name has surfaced in trade rumors. 

Will Cuylle – Cuylle had a solid rookie season with 13 goals and 21 points. He plays a very heavy game, and still has a lot of upside. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get some run on the top line in training camp. 

Brennan Othmann/ Brett Berard – Between these two and Cuylle let’s call those the longshots. Othmann and Berard were the top two goal scorers in Hartford this season. Othmann did play in a regular season game and didn’t register a point. Both Othmann and Berard both finished their first seasons in Hartford, so time will tell in training camp if they’re ready.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be on the roster, just not playing on the top line.

External

Jake Guentzel – The star of the trade deadline, and the Rangers had interest in Guentzel before the Hurricanes acquired him. Now there are reports that the Hurricanes are shopping Guentzel’s negotiating rights for a mid round pick. Chris Drury should push his chips to the table and acquire the two time Stanley Cup Champion. 

Pavel Buchnevich – Hello, old friend the Rangers traded Buchnevich to the Blues before the 2021-22 season. Buchnevich has scored 25+ goals the last three seasons. Buchnevich is now 29 years old and has one year left on his contract at 5.8 million, maybe a return to Broadway can help Chris Drury correct one of his worst decisions as GM. 

Nikolaj Ehlers – Ehlers played 82 games for the first time since 2017-18 and put up  25 goals and 61 points. Ehlers has a lot of speed and will turn 29 next February. Ehlers has one year left on his contract at six million dollars. 

Vladimir Tarasenko – Hello, old friend Tarasenko was acquired at last season’s trade deadline by the Rangers and put up eight goals and 21 points in 31 games. You can also make the case Tarasenko was the Rangers best player in the first round against the Devils. There were rumors last summer Tarasenko wanted to return to New York, but because of the cap situation couldn’t and wound up in Ottawa (Now in Florida after the trade deadline). With the cap rising and a potential second Cup, would Tarasenko  sign a one year deal to return?

Andrew Mangiapane – Magiapane put up 14 goals and 40 points for the Flames this season, but he’s two seasons removed from putting up 35 goals and 55 points. Mangiapane, who turns 29 in April, has one year left at 5.8 million dollars. With Calgary “retooling” you have to wonder about the cost here. 

Rabbit Hole ideas ( Love to see it but highly unlikely)

Brady Tkachuk – The Senators captain is signed through 2028-29 at over eight million dollars. There have been rumors that Ottawa would be listening to offers ( the Sens have denied that report) for Tkachuk. Brady’s grandfather Walt played his whole career for the Rangers and had 227 goals and 678 points. 

Clayton Keller : The new Utah franchise is going to want to make a splash and not trade away their best player. Keller led the Arizona Coyotes last season in goals (33) and points (76). Keller has hit the 30 goal mark the last two seasons. Keller is 25 years old and is signed through 2028-29 at 7.15 million dollars. 

Jonathan Marchessault – I’m putting this here and not external just because Marchessault has expressed a desire to stay in Vegas. Jonathan Marchessault had a career high 42 goals this season and has been one of the faces of the Golden Knights since they came into the NHL. If Vegas doesn’t re-sign Marchessault, Chris Drury should consider last season’s Conn Smythe winner who will be 34 in December.