New York Rangers lose Dryden Hunt as Avalanche claim him off waivers

Anthony Scultore Updated: Oct 20, 2022

new york rangers dryden hunt — Nov 26, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Rangers left wing Dryden Hunt (29) reacts after scoring a goal past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche have claimed forward Dryden Hunt from the New York Rangers via waivers on Thursday afternoon.

Hunt, 26, appeared in 3 games this season and registered a goal. In 2021-22, he registered 17 points in 76 games for the Blueshirts.

This was the final year of a two-year deal Hunt signed last summer for an AAV of $762,500. The versatile forward had a decent shot and played a physical brand of hockey whenever Gerard Gallant would insert him into the lineup.

The Avalanche were recently dealt a blow to their roster when they announced forward Gabriel Landeskog would be out 12 weeks after knee surgery.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1583163309536464896?s=20&t=43rWf8U2NO600–FzqNU1w

Dryden Hunt claimed off waivers

Now that Dryden Hunt has been claimed, the Rangers will have approximately $946,000 in cap space.

This leaves the Blueshirts with a 22 man roster and Vitali Kravtsov as the 13th forward. He’s currently looking to get back into the lineup after being injured in the season-opener on hit by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman.

“We’ll see how the team is playing,” he said Monday night when asked if Kravtsov will go right back into the lineup. “I mean, it wasn’t fair to the guy; he played a minute and a half the first night, and he gets hurt. We’ll see. We’ll see how we’re going.”
Gerard Gallant via NY Post

Here’s a look at the Rangers current forward lines that are likely to play versus the Sharks tonight:

Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafrenière
Blais – Chytil – Goodrow
Vesey– Carpenter – Reaves

Kravtsov’s best bet to get back in will be on the third line. That requires either Jimmy Vesey or Ryan Reaves to be scratched and for Sammy Blais or Barclay Goodrow to drop down to the fourth line.

At this time, Kravtsov also remains one of the top candidates to be traded for a rental at the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.

Based on the prorated cap space as it stands today, the Blueshirts will have around $800K which is equivalent to around $3.5 million to play with at the deadline. Adding Kravtsov’s cap hit back the other way in a deal will allow them to be players in the Patrick Kane sweepstakes expected this year. The Blackhawks will need to retain 50% of Kane’s $10.5 million AAV for any deal with a contender to work.