NY Rangers Forward Drawing Trade Interest From Maple Leafs

Could the New York Rangers trade one of their forwards to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Jan 18, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of a Toronto Maple Leafs logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images / USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers have made a lot of changes to their roster this offseason, which was necessitated by the team finishing in last place in the Eastern Conference with only 77 points this past season.

On paper, the team has improved immensely. Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand provide the team with some added scoring punch with the potential to approach 60 goals scored combined.

In need of defensive upgrades, the team acquired Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks and Sean Durzi was included in the return package from the Utah Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck deal. However, the team may not be done making moves.

There have been rumors swirling about the Rangers wanting to add more help up front. However, one of their forwards could be on the move, as Taylor Raddysh is drawing trade interest from the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Kyle Andrew of the Toronto Sports Rush podcast.

Maple Leafs reportedly interested in Taylor Raddysh

Jan 26, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Taylor Raddysh (14) controls the puck against the Boston Bruins during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“There’s a rumor that the Leafs could be eyeing Taylor Raddysh from the New York Rangers right now, adding a brother dynamic potentially to this hockey team,” Andrew said, with an H/T to Ryan McInerney of Forever Blueshirts.

One of the biggest moves of the offseason was the Maple Leafs signing Darren Raddysh, the older brother of Taylor. After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the older Raddysh signed an eight-year, $68 million deal in free agency.

Given some of the rumors that have been swirling around New York recently, it would be a surprise if they were to unload a forward, even one projected to be in their bottom-six, as Raddysh is.

They want to add to their talent pool at forward, not subtract. Moving on from Raddysh would certainly thin them out on the NHL depth chart, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on during training camp because it could mean the team has another move in the works.

Trading Raddysh, who looks to be the third-line right winger right now, would create a sizable void in the bottom-six. Are the Rangers moving closer to making a deal with someone such as Patrik Laine in free agency, who can split middle-six time with Bjorkstrand? Maybe they are getting close to a trade involving Braden Schneider with a top-six forward coming back.

Or maybe New York likes what they have seen from one of their young wingers, such as Liam Greentree, and is ready to give them the runway to play and develop at the NHL level. There has to be a plan in place if the team is entertaining the idea of trading Raddysh.

Given the moves Chris Drury made this offseason, it is clear they are looking to compete; trading away a locked-in member of the opening night lineup without a contingency plan on how to replace him would make very little sense.