NY Rangers Land Talented Winger From Sharks in Interesting Mock Draft Trade

In an interesting mock draft trade, the New York Rangers are able to address a need at forward.

Mar 14, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of a San Jose Sharks logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the third period at Bell Centre. / David Kirouac-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers will be getting set for an important offseason that will kick off with the season coming to an end. 

Following a terrible campaign, the Rangers are going to be a team that will be looking to make some significant improvements this offseason. New York finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, and that has created some uncertainty about the direction of the team. 

The Rangers do have some good things in place with a lot of cap space and two first-round picks. However, the free agency class is lacking what New York needs, and spending big on veteran players might not be the best course of action. 

Due to free agency lacking star power, that could result in the Rangers looking toward the trade market. Even though they might not be in a position to land a superstar, perhaps making a deal for a player or players that might need a change of scenery makes sense. 

New York certainly needs some help at the forward spot, and with them unlikely to be able to address that with the fifth pick, doing so in a trade might be the logical way to go about it. 

Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required) was on the clock with the second pick in their staff mock draft. With the selection, he took Ivar Stenberg, taking the talented forward. However, he also pulled off a trade with the Rangers in this mock, landing Braden Schneider and a third-round pick in exchange for William Eklund. 

Rangers Landing Talented Forward

San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

There has been a lot of speculation about what the Sharks will do with the second overall pick, and in this situation, going with Stenberg and trading away another winger is certainly a possibility. 

For New York, landing Eklund for Schneider and the better of their two third-round picks is certainly an appealing move. The Rangers seemingly might not be interested in locking up the young defenseman long-term, and moving him for help up front makes sense. 

Eklund is a former top 10 pick of the Sharks and has had some success so far in his career. This season, he totaled 53 points with 15 goals and 38 assists. However, due to the plethora of wingers that San Jose has, he is a player who they might be shopping. 

This swap would fill some needs for both teams, and these two teams are logical trade partners this summer.