New York Rangers Daily: Trent Frederic traded, Yanni Gourde return fuels rumors before deadline
The NHL Trade Deadline is two days away and things are heating up throughout the League. But the New York Rangers have spread out their heavy lifting well before the deadline, making four trades this season, most notably acquiring difference maker J.T. Miller on Jan. 31.
That actually sets the Rangers up to be pretty settled with their lineup before others teams that are still scrambling ahead of Friday. They looked the part the past two games (shutout wins against the Nashville Predators and New York Islanders), even following the trade of veterans Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche.
Reilly Smith has been scratched the past two games for roster management reasons. The veteran pending UFA will be dealt before the deadline arrives. If there’s more up general manager Chris Drury’s sleeve, it’d be a surprise.
So, the Rangers are pretty set and now in a pretty, pretty good place as far as the Eastern Conference playoff race stands. The Detroit Red Wings lost their third straight game on Tuesday, 2-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes. That means the Rangers, tied in points with the Red Wings (66) but with one more win (31-30) and three more ROW (30-37), are now the second wild card in the East.
A win against the first-place Washington Capitals at MSG on Wednesday would tie the Rangers in points with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card, though Columbus will have a game in hand.
Heady stuff for a team that seemed all but out of the race in late December. And you can thank their roster shake up — four significant trades made during the season — for playing a major role in their rebound after the New Year.
Our exclusive one-on-one with former Rangers goalie Martin Biron posts today on You Tube. Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page
New York Rangers news
It appears more and more that the reformed Rangers are “buying in” to a new winning formula.
Of course, a big part of that is the impact J.T. Miller has made on the Rangers since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31.
In case you missed it, here are our three Rangers takeaways from the 4-0 win against the Islanders on Monday, including a block party in front of Igor Shesterkin.
And our new postgame feature listing winners and losers from that Rangers victory over the Islanders
In our weekly look at the Hartford Wolf Pack, we feature insight into two Rangers forward prospects: Jaroslav Chmelar and Dylan Roobroeck. Plus a look at a busy week ahead for Hartford.
NHL news and rumors
Trent Frederic might be injured but that didn’t stop the Edmonton Oilers from dealing for the rugged forward in a swap with the Boston Bruins ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
The Bruins just might be toast in the Eastern Conference playoff chase anyway. Captain Brad Marchand is week to week with a lower-body injury and then they lost again Tuesday, 6-3 to the lowly Nashville Predators.
Jake Evans was removed from the trade market ahead of the deadline when he signed a four-year contract worth $2.85 million annually to remain with the Montreal Canadiens.
Attention all contenders seeking a solid two-way center with a Stanley Cup pedigree, the Seattle Kraken activated Yanni Gourde off IR, three days before the trade deadline. He’d been out since Jan. 2 following sports hernia surgery.
The Kraken reportedly are willing to retain up to 50 percent of forward Brandon Tanev’s cap hit ($3.5 million) to facilitate a trade before Friday, with numerous teams interested in the gritty forward.
According to reports, pending UFA Brock Boeser won’t receive a contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks ahead of the trade deadline but he likely won’t be dealt away either.
Also not likely to be traded is Canucks forward Pius Suter, a UFA whos’ expected to be in the lineup Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks.
One last Canucks note: struggling star center Elias Pettersson said Tuesday he’s not going to “dwell” on his disappointing play this season and instead focus on a strong finish over the final 22 games. He, too, is not expected to be traded before Friday.
Just another brutal night for the freefalling New Jersey Devils. Already playing without injured star Jack Hughes, the Devils lost their top defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a lower-body injury in the first period against the Dallas Stars. To cap it all off, the Devils lost 4-3 when Thomas Harley scored with five seconds remaining in regulation for Dallas.
Watch Harley’s clutch late goal for the Stars.
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period reported that the Islanders began serious trade talks Monday, likely involving veteran forwards Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. Reportedly, the Los Angeles Kings are very interested in Palmieri.
Each forward was in the lineup Tuesday when the Islanders stunned the League-leading Winnipeg Jets 2-1, handing the Jets their third straight defeat.
Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel each had two goals and an assist to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 6-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who had their four-game winning streak end.
Former Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello had a goal and assist to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 win over the Kraken.
Ryan Lindgren made his debut with the Colorado Avalanche after being traded by the Rangers on Saturday and the defenseman helped lead his new team to a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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