Backcheck
Roster needs · candidate fits
As of Sun, Sep 20

The Trade Board

The model measures each club's roster gaps against the league, then ranks outside players on how well they'd plug the biggest one — on-ice value, style fit, and how gettable the seller looks. On-ice fit only; nothing here is cap-validated.

How to read this

First the diagnosis: we compare this club's impact in every roster bucket — top-six scoring, defensive D, and so on — against the league average, and rank the shortfalls. The biggest gap becomes the shopping brief.

Then the shortlist: outside players are scored on how well they'd plug that hole — their on-ice value (), their with how this club creates offense, and an that assumes struggling clubs sell and contenders don't. Know what this board is not: it has no salary data, no cap math, no term, and no idea whether a GM would return the call. It's a scouting shortlist built purely from on-ice fit — the phone call is your job.

NEED
roster bucket where the club trails league average, ranked by the gap
WAR*
on-ice value — a model proxy, not official WAR
STYLE
0–100: does the candidate score the way this club scores?
ACQ†
0–100: how gettable the seller looks, from points pace alone
FIT
value × need × style × acquirability — the shortlist order
Fine print · verbatim from the model
  • on-ice fit only; not cap-validated
  • acquirability is a PROXY (team points pace), not real availability; no contract/cap/AAV/term data exists.
  • No real contract data (PuckPedia/CapWages are paid). Contract phase is an age/experience estimate; market visibility proxies what contracts pay for.
NYRNew York Rangers
Biggest need

Bottom-6 forward depth

-42team 40.2 vs league 81.9 · high
All needs · ranked
4 flagged
01
Bottom-6 forward depthhigh
-42
02
Depth defensehigh
-35
03
Top-6 forwardhigh
-25
04
Top-pair defensemanhigh
-13
Best value fits
8 ranked · league board →
#FromPlayer
1UTA
Lawson CrouseL · +2.29Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (54/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
58+21.4UFA (est.)
72/100 · model-est.
2CAR
Jordan StaalC · +1.68Coming off a solid contributor season, fits the style well (77/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
61+15.8UFA (est.)
70/100 · model-est.
3NJDstats: PIT
Anthony ManthaR · +3.02Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (54/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
59+17.7UFA (est.)
70/100 · model-est.
4NSH
Filip ForsbergL · +3.34Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (63/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
61+15.3UFA (est.)
70/100 · model-est.
5FLA
Brad MarchandL · +2.43Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, fits the style well (82/100).
69+5.1UFA (est.)
70/100 · model-est.
6TBL
Jake GuentzelC · +4.07Coming off an all-star level season, brings a different stylistic profile (54/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
59+16.3UFA (est.)
70/100 · model-est.
7CAR
Andrei SvechnikovR · +3.19Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (63/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
59+15.4RFA (est.)
69/100 · model-est.
8OTT
Tim SttzleC · +3.61Coming off an all-star level season, fits the style well (77/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
64+10.0RFA (est.)
69/100 · model-est.

◆ Value basis · No real contract data (PuckPedia/CapWages are paid). Contract phase is an age/experience estimate; market visibility proxies what contracts pay for.

Candidate fits · Bottom-6 forward depth
15 ranked
#FromPlayer
1FLA
Brad MarchandL · 71.8Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, fits the style well (82/100).
+2.438253
AVERAGE FIT69/100 · model-est.
2LAK
Adrian KempeR · 54.3Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (88/100).
+2.798852
AVERAGE FIT64/100 · model-est.
3OTT
Tim SttzleC · 65.9Coming off an all-star level season, fits the style well (77/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.617747
AVERAGE FIT64/100 · model-est.
4CAR
Seth JarvisC · 72.4Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (70/100).
+3.127045
AVERAGE FIT63/100 · model-est.
5MIN
Vladimir TarasenkoR · 63.1Coming off a solid contributor season, fits the style well (77/100).
+1.997747
AVERAGE FIT62/100 · model-est.
6WSH
Ryan LeonardR · 49.6Coming off a solid contributor season, plays this club's style almost exactly (91/100).
+1.579148
AVERAGE FIT62/100 · model-est.
7CAR
Jordan StaalC · 60.9Coming off a solid contributor season, fits the style well (77/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+1.687745
AVERAGE FIT61/100 · model-est.
8DAL
Jamie BennL · 56.7Coming off a solid contributor season, fits the style well (82/100).
+1.428245
AVERAGE FIT61/100 · model-est.
9PHI
Carl GrundstromR · 48.8Coming off a depth season, plays this club's style almost exactly (88/100).
+0.468850
AVERAGE FIT61/100 · model-est.
10WSHstats: CBJ
Boone JennerC · 58.3Coming off a solid contributor season, fits the style well (77/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+1.507748
AVERAGE FIT61/100 · model-est.
11NSH
Filip ForsbergL · 64.8Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (63/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.346352
AVERAGE FIT61/100 · model-est.
12UTA
Dylan GuentherR · 74.5Coming off an all-star level season, brings a different stylistic profile (54/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.675447
AVERAGE FIT60/100 · model-est.
13PIT
Rickard RakellR · 63.2Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (70/100).
+2.057047
AVERAGE FIT60/100 · model-est.
14PIT
Bryan RustR · 63.0Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, brings a different stylistic profile (70/100).
+2.637047
AVERAGE FIT60/100 · model-est.
15VGK
Alexander HoltzR · 55.7Coming off a depth season, fits the style well (77/100).
+0.347748
AVERAGE FIT60/100 · model-est.
◆ The Modelon-ice fit only; not cap-validated* WAR is a model-estimated proxy, not official WAR

acquirability is a PROXY (team points pace), not real availability; no contract/cap/AAV/term data exists.

Fit score blends on-ice value, positional need, style match and the acquirability proxy. It says nothing about contracts, cap space, term, or whether a seller would pick up the phone — read it as a scouting shortlist, not a trade machine.