Clayton Keller Could Have Been a New York Ranger

Most Arizona Coyotes fans may not know how close forward Clayton Keller became to being a New York Ranger.

Back in 2016, the New York Rangers were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins and were reeling about what to do to improve. At this point in time, the Rangers front office identified defenseman and captain Ryan McDonagh as the team’s most valuable asset that could be moved. After a second straight strong season with a depleted unit around him, he was a clear cut number 1. They were even in talks with the Colorado Avalanche about center Nathan MacKinnon. Remember, this was back when Avs were horrible with a season-ending 48 points. MacKinnon was just an “average” player then collecting 16 goals, 37 assists in 82 games.

Needless to say, general manager Joe Sakic wanted nothing to do with moving MacKinnon. Good move, as it turned out. The Rangers even attempted to grab the Colorado team’s captain Gabriel Landeskog, also unsuccessfully. It just seems very familiar to a team like the Arizona Coyotes. They are in a similar situation as the Avalanche were back then. In a rebuild, you want to use your assets well to construct a winning team.

Clayton Keller Was Being Eyed by the New York Rangers in the 2016 NHL Draft

When Gorton wasn’t able to nab MacKinnon or Landeskog, his next plan was to trade McDonagh to the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth overall draft pick. He would then name Clayton Keller as his choice. So, the popular forward could have become a member of the New York Rangers under that scenario. Fortunately for Coyotes’ fans, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli infamously traded Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson and McDonagh remained a Ranger until the 2017 deadline.

The Oilers went on to draft Jesse Puljujarvi with their fourth pick, and the Coyotes chose Keller with the seventh choice. It’s always intriguing to look back in hindsight about what could have been. Now, say Keller did wind up in New York. Does anyone doubt that with his increased level of play that he displayed in 2021-22, that he could have perhaps helped the Rangers advance to the Stanley Cup Final?

Keller tallied 28 goals and 35 assists in 67 games this season. That was before his unfortunate injury when he broke his leg crashing into the end boards. He was on pace to score 34 goals and 43 assists for 77 points. With the Rangers top three scorers being Artemi Panarin (96 points), Mika Zibanejad (81 points), and Chris Kreider (77 points), Keller would have tied Kreider for third in scoring on the team.

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Clayton Keller is Perfectly Happy in Arizona

As things turned out, Keller likes playing in Arizona. And, according to him, who wouldn’t? He even mentioned that at the Tempe City Council meeting where the fate of the Coyotes’ planned $2.1 billion arena/entertainment district was being considered. There were those (myself included) who wondered why the Yotes wasted their seventh overall pick in the draft on Keller. After all, he was great in his initial season collecting 23 goals, and 65 points. But he fell from grace after that until his uprising this season. His 0.94 points per game average this past season shows his potential. It also displays that he deserves his $7.15 million AAV contract through 2027-28.

While the Rangers may be kicking themselves for not adding Keller to their roster, they are still a very good team. They took the twice Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning to the Conference Final and got eliminated in six games. Their future is bright with stars like Panarin, Zibanejad, and Kreider. Then, don’t forget that they have this awesome defenseman by the name of Adam Fox too. They’ll be fine going forward.

Clayton Keller is the Foundation of the Coyotes Rebuild

While there had been rumors of trading Keller, that is all behind him now. There’s no sensible reason to even think about moving the best player on the team now. He will be under contract for six more seasons which means by the time the rebuild starts kicking in, Keller will be a veteran player to lead in that endeavor. He has shown leadership as well and was recognized with the “A” added to his jersey.

If things continue in their upward motion for Keller, he could even replace that “A” with a “C” in the near future. His progression of recovering from his nasty leg injury is going well, and all the fans will be watching #9 skate next season as planned.