The Rangers acquired a right winger, a third-line center and a seventh defenseman for a combined price of four draft picks, but the Rangers will be signing a right winger, a third-line center and a seventh defenseman for a total of four draft picks before the club’s first season at owner Jim Dolan’s Las Vegas Sphere this summer. First-round picks are not included.
President and general manager Chris Drury refrained from overpaying at the trade deadline with high asking prices.
“It would have been okay. [trading the first-round pick] If an agreement makes sense,” Drury said on a conference call with reporters Friday night. “Even if it was a good prospect, whether it was this year’s first round, whether it was next year’s first round, whatever it was, I didn’t go into it with any preconceptions or rules or concepts. It was just a matter of trying to get the best deal we could to fill a position that we thought needed to be filled to make the team better. I feel like that’s what we accomplished.”
Noting that Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg and Chad Ruhwedel all fill specific roles the Rangers need, Drury didn’t enter into this project to acquire a specific type of player. He emphasized that it is not.
Instead, it was important to find the best one he could.
Roslovic was a key acquisition to likely play as the right wing on the Rangers’ top line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.
The Rangers acquired the 27-year-old from the Blue Jackets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, but if the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Final and Roslovic plays in 50% of their playoff games, he could become a third-round pick. Become. .
“Every lineup is looking for balance, and we are no different,” Drury said. “[That first line], whoever was on that wing did some really good things in the neutral zone and D-zone. I think they want to be a little more offensive overall and I think they’re moving towards that, but we certainly have a lot of confidence and trust in Chris and Micah and whoever is on the right wing with them. I have faith. ”
It was confirmed Friday that Adam Edstrom will be moving to Hartford in the AHL, but Lempe is also on loan to Hartford, leaving the 6-foot-8, 8.5-inch forward with the Rangers, making the deal just a paper deal. It wasn’t too much.
The move ensures the two towering wings will compete with the Wolf Pack in the AHL playoffs.
In order to be demoted from the NHL at any point during the remainder of the season, a player had to be on an AHL roster by the 3:00 p.m. deadline.
According to multiple reports outside of practice, Wennberg represented the Rangers’ second power play unit along with Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Johnny Brodzinski and Erik Gustafsson.
He was also paired with Jimmy Vesey during penalty kill duties.
The top six remained the same, but Wennberg slotted in between Will Quill and Vesey on the third line, and Barclay Goodrow became the centerpiece of the fourth unit between Brodzinski and Matt Lempe.
