As the New York Rangers maintain their position at the top of the Metropolitan Division, general manager Chris Drury has remained focused on making additions to strengthen the team.
However, an unfortunate setback occurred when the Rangers lost centerman Filip Chytil for the remainder of the season due to concussion issues. This prompted the organization to shift their attention towards acquiring a replacement centerman before the Trade Deadline, which was set for Friday at 3 PM.
To address this need, the Rangers successfully completed a trade on Wednesday evening. They acquired Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken, with the Kraken retaining 50 percent of Wennberg’s salary. In exchange, the Rangers sent their 2024 second-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pick to the Kraken.
As a pending unrestricted free agent, Alex Wennberg currently carries a cap hit of $4.5 million, but the New York Rangers will only be responsible for $2.25 million of that amount. This transaction leaves the Rangers with approximately $2.898 million in available salary cap space.
With his age of 29, Wennberg has recorded nine goals and 16 assists in 60 games this season. It is anticipated that he will fill the role of the third-line center for the Rangers, playing alongside Wille Cuylle and Jimmy Vesey.