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Rangers acquire Alex Wennberg to be their 3C, what else might get done |
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The Rangers checked one box on the shipping list this afternoon. GM Chris Drury acquired Alexander Wennberg from the Kraken for a 2024 second round pick and Dallas' 2025 fourth round pick, which was received as part of the Nils Lundkvist deal. New York went into the trade deadline likely looking for a third-line center, first-line right wing and depth blueliner. One of the three has been added to the coffers.
Wennberg is not a perfect fit for the third line but he is an upgrade. His face-off percentage of 47% is not ideal for the role, though working with the Rangers coaching staff and Vincent Trocheck could result in an uptick in that number. Wennberg is a pass first center, which could allow Will Cuylle more shot opportunities, and if Kaapo Kakko is not dealt in the pursuit of a first line right wing, having Wennberg as his center would benefit him as well.
Wennberg can play on the penalty kill, having logged over 100 shorthanded minutes each of the last few seasons. His metrics shorthanded this year are not great, but I am willing to see how he fits in the system before prejudging. Wennberg is solid defensively, which is a need on this team for the bottom-six, so he should fit in nicely on Broadway.
As of now, with about 41 hours to go till the deadline as of me writing this, the bottom six currently may be: Cuylle-Wennberg-Vesey and Edstrom-Brodzinski-Goodrow, at least for practice Thursday. Come game time Saturday, this could be vastly different. If the Rangers get a first line right winger and Kakko does not go, Kakko will slot in next to Cuylle and Wennberg. That would shift Vesey to the fourth line and could mean Edstrom is the odd man out. in last game situations where new York is up a goal, look for Goodrow to move up to the third line to take draws and add more defensive ballast.
With Seattle assuming half the cap hit, New York is at about $2.9 mil in space. If Matt Rempe or Adam Edstrom go down, up that figure to about $3.7 mil. Emily Kaplan and others have said that the Rangers are not done yet. The pipe dream of Jake Guentzel to New York remains alive. I still think Carolina or Vancouver lands him, but the staring contest, as seen from the tweet below continues. Guentzel would be a bold strike by Drury, but I don't think he is willing to pay the price for him, especially with no extension and if Brennan Othmann or Gabe Perreault is required as part of the package.
Doug Armstrong of St. Louis is willing to get "creative" to move Pavel Buchnevich. If the Blues assume half the cap, that would just fit under what the Rangers have available without sending down Rempe or Edstrom. Given the return Drury received for Buchnevich originally and the ask being at the same level or higher than Guentzel, I put the odds at somewhere between highly unlikely and improbable. Frank Vatrano is still in the mix, though with Anaheim already assuming cap space for three players, a third time would be needed to assume cap space and Pat Verbeek is demanding a high price. This brings us back to Anthony Duclair, but I do think Drury has a big splash up his sleeve, maybe Tyler Toffoli? Marian Gaborik to the Devils opened the spigot a little, maybe Drury blasts it wide open with this type of trade?
Stay tuned. Lots of deals today. We may be just getting warmed up. Friday might be an insane day.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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