Rangers aren't trading their 2C (at the moment) for yet another winger. It makes no sense.

30+ goals/szn and locked up at a reasonable cap for multiple years. Plus Kaner is hella tough, another factor they currently lack.

They have too many wingers and need centers

A quality problem to have. Ask VGK if that's a problem; their center depth is so/so, but they're stacked with wingers, which makes them very hard to defend against.

You know who else is locked up at a reasonable cap hit for years?.. Lafraniere, Kakko, Kravtsov, Panarin and thats not even counting if they keep Buchnevich.. There's also Kreider will be playing 3rd line. Kane doesn't make sense for the Rangers, especially at the expense of a center.

Chytl moves up to 2C, Kaner and Kakko turn that line into a goal machine. Lots of 3Cs available in the off-season, and now the team gets tougher without having to waste space on a botto-6 grinder.

Rangers won't be able to pay Kane long term

Dude... you know if they made this move they'd figure it out.

Explain to me how they could they could figure it out

7M is also not "reasonable" at all for the Rangers for a winger.. They can sign Buchnevich for less than that likely.

Kaner is better than Buch, and he's tough. Also, there's nothing preventing them from signing Buch too. I think the mission for NYR moving forward is to become as deep as possible.

Every year half the league figures out their cap overages in multitudes of creative ways. Don't just take my word for it, look into it yourself.

I did look into it. There's no chance they can afford Lafreinere in 2023

They'll be fine.