Rangers move out Vets

The New York Rangers, earlier in the year gave the season a good kick at the can (Cup) when they went out and acquired Joe Pavelski, Loui Eriksson and Justin Williams.

"The team had been playing very well and we felt that we owed it to the guys in the room to bring in re-inforcements and give the team a much needed shot in the arm. It's unfortunate that things didn't work out as we had hoped"

Last night at the MRFHL Trade Deadline, the team reversed course and traded vets for youth in a clear move towards rebuilding.

The final tally for the day is

OUT:

• Winger Alex Steen
• Winger Loui Eriksson
• Center Paul Stastny

IN:

• Center Mikael Backlund
• Center Brandon Sutter
• Winger Dustin Penner
• Winger Jason Zucker (prospect)
• Three 3rd round picks (two in 2014 (ANA and NYI), one in 2015 (PIT)
• One 1st round pick in 2015 (Colorado's 1st)

There were talks that teh Rangers were in discussions about possibly moving out winger Justin Williams and Center Joe Pavelski. The GM spoke about the trades that did not happen.

"Throughout the course of the evening, we had been having conversations regarding numerous players. Some of those conversations were closer to getting something done than others, but we had a specific package that we wanted as a return for a few guys that we were not able to reach a match on which is why they are still here. We are happy with what we were able to accomplish last night. We had no 3rd rounders in this draft or next, that's been addressed. We had no 1st round pick in 2015, that's been addressed. We regained some of the youth we moved out in deals done earlier in the season and we added some young talent to the roster for the rest of the season that we feel can be very helpful to the team as we move forward."

Asked to tip his hand regarding the up coming draft (currently holding 2nd and 4th overall picks) the GM replied:

"There's still 10-13 games remaining for alot of teams so where we stand today may not be abd probably will not be where those picks end up sitting. If you look at what Montreal was able to do, you have to believe that they are capable of winning 7-8 of their remaining 13 games. And while we did move out quite a bit, we also have the ability to move out of the #2 overall selection. However, should everything remain the same, If Ekblad is available at #2, we will be taking him. If he is gone, we are leaning towards one of the two Sam's. At #4 we like Draisaitl,  Dal Colle and or Perlini.