Rangers acquire recent former NCAA champion in trade with Blackhawks
It wasn’t exactly the needle-mover the New York Rangers hoped ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, but they did swing a minor-league deal that could pay off in the future.
The Rangers acquired forward prospect Aidan Thompson from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who played this season with Hartford of the American Hockey League. Thompson was assigned to Hartford after the trade.
The 24-year-old is in his rookie pro season after three very productive NCAA seasons at the University of Denver. Thompson helped Denver win the National Championship in 2024, and totaled 117 points (42 goals, 75 assists) in 120 games during his collegiate career.
In 40 games with Rockford in the AHL this season, Thompson had 15 points, including six goals, which are tied for 10th on the team. He struggled to produce offensively, scoring one goal in his past 22 games since Nov. 22. Last spring, he had one assist in seven regular-season games with Rockford after signing a PTO following the end of his NCAA campaign. But he came alive with four points (two goals, two assists) in seven Calder Cup Playoff games.
There’s some skill there, for sure. But Thompson, who played a couple seasons as Noah Laba’s teammate with Lincoln in the USHL before attending college, clearly needs to show that he can produce consistently at the pro level. A third-round pick (No. 90 overall) by Chicago in the 2022 NHL Draft, Thompson doesn’t have great size (5-foot-11, 180 pounds), but is known for his high hockey IQ.
Thompson is the third forward prospect added to the Rangers pipeline since general manager Chris Drury publicly announced a retool in mid-January. The Rangers acquired Liam Greentree, a former first-round pick (No. 26 overall in 2024), in the Artemi Panarin trade with the Los Angeles Kings in February.
Thompson is more of a project than major prospect, unlike Greentree, who has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in nine games with Windsor since joining the Rangers organization, and recently was named OHL Player of the Week.
The Rangers also acquired forward Jacob Battaglia from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Brennan Othmann on Friday.
Rangers hold on to Vincent Trocheck; deal Derrick Pouliot in minor league trade
The Rangers chose not to trade Vincent Trocheck before the deadline Friday. Reportedly, no team met their demands, and Drury didn’t flinch nor lower his asking price. Trocheck still has three years remaining at $5.625 million annually on his contract, and could be back on the trade market this coming offseason.
They did trade Sam Carrick to the Buffalo Sabres for third- and sixth-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Carrick and Trocheck were healthy scratches Thursday for roster management purposes, when the Rangers steamrolled the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2.
Trocheck didn’t attend Rangers practice Friday, but should be back in the lineup Saturday, when they visit the New Jersey Devils.
Pouliot led Hartford defenseman and ranked third overall on the team with 28 points in 52 games at the time of the trade. The 32-year-old defenseman has a team-high 26 assists. Though a former first-round pick (No. 8 overall in 2012) by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pouliot wasn’t viewed as much of an NHL option on the blue line, so it wasn’t difficult to trade him away for Thompson.
The Rangers (24-29-8) have 21 games remaining. They are last in the Eastern Conference and will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.
New York added four draft picks, one conditional pick and three prospects, making five trades after Drury waived the white flag on this season two months ago. The Rangers have 11 picks in this year’s draft, including seven in the first three rounds.
