After seeing several other possible targets come off the board, New York Rangers’ GM Chris Drury waded into the trade market. He definitely didn’t dive in head first, nor did he jump in feet first. It was more like Drury dipped his toes in the water. New York acquired Alexander Wennberg from Seattle with 50% retention for a 2024 2nd Round Pick and Dallas’ 2025 4th Round Pick that first came to the Rangers in the Nils Lundkvist deal.
Full trade, per sources:
To #NYR: Alex Wennberg (50% retained)
To #SeaKraken: 2024 2nd Rd Pick, 2025 DAL 4th Rd PickForgot to properly credit: @emilymkaplan first on the deal.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 6, 2024
Wennberg is not a sexy acquisition, but he certainly fills his need. His arrival will allow Jonny Brodzinski to slide down to the fourth line and bolsters the top-nine. The composition of the bottom-six remains to be determined and may be decided on if Drury makes any other deals. New York was rumored to have some interest in Adam Henrique, but that waned to a certain extent recently. Inclusion of a first rounder from Edmonton as part of a broader deal, including Sam Carrick certainly cooled their ardor. The two and the four is in line with what Vegas paid to acquire Anthony Mantha, with salary retention also part of that deal. Mantha is a scorer, while Wennberg is a playmaker who also can be deployed on the penalty kill.
Alex Wennberg, acquired by NYR, is a two-way playmaking centre. Has been playing big match-up minutes in Seattle but will likely slide in as a decent 3C for the Rangers. #NYR pic.twitter.com/Xrfiyr8Mp1
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 6, 2024
The New York Rangers are closing in on a trade for Kraken center Alex Wennberg per @emilymkaplan. As we said on Monday, Wennberg is solid 3rd line forward. We expect tha Kraken will retain some of Wennberg’s salary. pic.twitter.com/IlZ3P5rLVG
— Andy & Rono (@ARHockeyStats) March 6, 2024
Seattle is retaining $2.25 of Wennberg’s $4.5 million cap hit, leaving New York with about $2.9 million in LTIR cap space. Although, that’s based on Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom remaining with the parent club. If they are sent down to their AHL affiliate Hartford Wolfpack, add another $1.4 million or so to the total. With a third-line center acquired, the first-line right wing remains the target, along with depth on defense.
Alex Wennberg #NYR@JimBiringer is back on the #NightCapRecap to break it all down!#NHL #HockeyTwitter @FP_Coverage pic.twitter.com/B12KfuJB35
— Full Press Hockey (@FullPressNHL) March 6, 2024
With Vladimir Tarasenko moving from Ottawa to Florida today, San Jose’s Anthony Duclair at $3 million in salary may be the primary target for New York. Since Anaheim has retained salary for three players, New York would have to fit in Frank Vatrano’s $3.65 million salary for this year and next without any assistance, making acquiring him a little more of a longshot. Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel is a pipe dream and would require a third team to assume cap space to allow a deal to work. Washington’s Joel Edmundson could be an option for depth on the blueline.
Night Cap Recap
Alex Wennberg to the Rangers #nyr @FullPressNHL @myNHLTradeRumor pic.twitter.com/wCxcaC0w8X
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 6, 2024
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