Rangers open to dealing a 2018 1st-round pick

Now that the New York Rangers have cashed in on their expendable assets through multiple deals at the trade deadline, general manager Jeff Gorton has begun planning the next stage of the rebuild that he and team president Glen Sather publicly promised in February.

After trading away Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner, and Nick Holden, the Rangers now possess seven picks in the first three rounds of the 2018 draft, including three in the first round alone.

With multiple high-value picks at his disposal, Gorton told Craig Custance of The Athletic that he's open to trading one of the first-rounders, particularly if a young player who's ready to make an impact becomes available.

"At the point we're at, we're looking to get as many good players as we can," Gorton said. "We're trying to rebuild. It's hard to say no to anything. We have to keep our options open and I think we'll do that."

Related: Rangers top prospects Andersson, Chytil could join team 'real soon'

At last year's draft, the Rangers swung a deal to nab an extra first-rounder, the seventh overall pick, which they used to select Lias Andersson. Now, with a few promising youngsters already in the fold, Gorton wouldn't mind adding a little experience, too.

"They can't all be 18 (years old)," he said. "You need different age groups to build your team."