New York Rangers Daily: NHL Trade Deadline fallout, including massive Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand deals
Just like that, it’s over. The months of buildup and deals made along the way. The NHL Trade Deadline passed Friday for the New York Rangers and the other 31 teams — and now the Stanley Cup Playoff push is officially on.
The Rangers made four trades in the final week ahead of the deadline, the last coming Friday when they acquired forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel from the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Erik Brannstrom. It’s a depth trade involving a pair of guys who have NHL experience but are in the American Hockey League right now.
Overall, the Rangers made seven trades during the season, the biggest being their acquisition of J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31. Along the way, they shipped out former captain Jacob Trouba, popular younger forwards Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, rookie defenseman Victor Mancini and three veteran pending UFAs they were not going to re-sign — Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and Reilly Smith.
Along with Miller, the Rangers added defensemen Carson Soucy, Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and Calvin de Haan, center Juuso Parssinen, forwards Brendan Brisson and Aube-Kubel, and a slew of draft picks.
“Just trying to thread the needle, trying to make sure we got some assets back for the future, while trying to show the group I still believe in them, which I do,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said Friday.
That belief gets put to the test Saturday, when the Rangers visit the Ottawa Senators in a crucial matinee matchup. The teams are tied with 67 points apiece, but the Senators are percentage points ahead for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference because they’ve played one fewer game.
Right ahead of the Rangers and Senators are the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom the Rangers host Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Columbus is the first wild card, one point ahead of the Rangers and Senators. And don’t forget that the Rangers trail the listing New Jersey Devils by five points for third place in the Metropolitan Division and have two games in hand.
Yeah, this is getting fun. Game on!
WATCH Exclusive 1-on-1 interview with former Rangers goalie Marty Biron on the RINK RAP podcast
New York Rangers news
Here are three things to watch for when the Rangers visit the Senators on Saturday, including the end of the bromance between J.T. Miller and Brady Tkachuk.
Urho Vaakanainen landed a two-year contract with the Rangers, likely the biggest deadline day news for the Blueshirts.
Here are the latest Rangers injury updates ahead of the Senators game and whether to expect newcomer Carson Soucy to be in the lineup.
Speaking of Soucy, the Forever Blueshirts staff handed out trade grades following the Rangers acquisition of the big, physical defenseman from the Canucks.
Our Dane Walsh breaks down how the Mikko Rantanen trade from the Carolina Hurricanes — and some other factors — benefit the Rangers playoff push.
Here’s why the Rangers are “super impressed” with everyone’s favorite fourth-line center Sam Carrick.
NHL news and rumors
To get the lowdown on every NHL trade, not only from the deadline but the entire 2024-25 season, check out the official trade tracker on NHL dot com.
Our John Kreiser assesses the Islanders trading Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche for a pretty decent haul.
Here’s why trading for and extending Mikko Rantanen was an opportunity the Dallas Stars “couldn’t pass up.”
Not only did the Stars land Rantanen, but they signed forward Wyatt Johnston to a five-year, $42 million contract.
There was plenty of emotional reaction after the Boston Bruins traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers in a deadline-day blockbuster.
Here’s why the surging Montreal Canadiens didn’t make any noise ahead of the trade deadline.
The League’s top team, the Winnipeg Jets, made one significant move Friday, reacquiring gritty forward Brandon Tanev.
Ahead of their game against the Rangers, the Senators landed center Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres in a four-player trade that included Josh Norris.
You may have missed this during the flurry of trades Friday, but the Edmonton Oilers announced that forward Evander Kane is out for the season.
James Nichols from New Jersey Hockey Now is spot on with his column stating that the trade deadline was a complete fail for the Devils.
On top of failing to land significant help to their struggling lineup, the Devils learned that top defenseman Dougie Hamilton “will be out for an extended time” with a lower-body injury and that defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler won’t play the rest of the regular season. All this on top of Jack Hughes’ season-ending shoulder surgery.
But wait, there’s more! The Devils were trashed by the Jets, 6-1 at The Rock.
The Detroit Red Wings continue to show they may not be up to competing in the Eastern Conference playoff race as they lost their fifth straight game, 5-2 to the Washington Capitals.
Elias Pettersson lives! The beleaguered center scored his first goal in 16 games to help the Canucks defeat the Minnesota Wild 3-1.
Former Rangers forward was held off the score-sheet but the Vegas Golden Knights easily handled the woeful Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0.
Watch Connor Bedard score the OT winner in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 4-3 win over the Utah Hockey Club
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