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New York Rangers Sign Boo Nieves, Steven Forgarty To One-Year Extensions

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After trading Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets, the New York Rangers have made another transaction. This time it’s a one-year one-way contract extension for Boo Nieves worth $700K according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Nieves was heading towards Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer since he has played only 58 games in his relatively short professional career.

Nieves, 25, hasn’t developed quite as quickly as the Rangers hoped when they made him the 59th overall pick in 2012. After four successful seasons at the University of Michigan, he has struggled to put up much offense in the minor leagues and has just 17 points in 58 career NHL games. With just 20 contests remaining this season for the Rangers, Nieves was not going to be able to cross the 80-game Group VI threshold. That threshold is still in play for next summer as well when Nieves will still be just 26. If he does play 80, he’ll become a restricted free agent in 2020.

The team has also signed a one-year extension with Steven Fogarty, who was another pending Group VI UFA. Fogarty has even less NHL experience with just 11 games under his belt, but is having an excellent season in the minor leagues. The 25-year old has 39 points in 47 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack but is waiting for his first NHL point. Both players will serve as inexpensive depth for the Rangers going forward.

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Kevin Hayes

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The Winnipeg Jets have made their trade deadline addition, once again adding a second-line center for a deep playoff run. The Jets have acquired New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick, 2022 conditional fourth-round pick and young forward Brendan Lemieux. The Rangers will receive the fourth-round pick if Winnipeg wins the Stanley Cup this season.

Hayes is the third-leading scorer on New York this season with 42 points (14-28-42) in 51 games and is on pace to set a new career high in assists and points.  He’s also logging over 19 minutes per game and would step in quite nicely on Winnipeg’s second line while pushing veteran Bryan Little down to the third line.  He carries a cap hit of $5.175MM which Winnipeg can easily absorb (they have over $24MM in full-season cap space) while still leaving room for other potential additions later in the day.  LeBrun notes (Twitter link) that there is no salary retention in the swap which is notable as it means that the Rangers retain their final salary retention slot for the time being.

The 26-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season but that’s not necessarily a negative for Winnipeg.  In fact, it may be a positive.  The team already has Blake Wheeler locked up to a new extension while wingers Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, as well as defenseman Jacob Trouba, are all slated to become restricted agents.  Accordingly, that’s going to eat up most of their remaining cap space so it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to afford to keep Hayes around.

As for Lemieux, this is the second time already that he’ll be involved in a notable swap after joining Winnipeg as part of the Evander Kane to Buffalo swap back in February of 2015.  The 22-year-old has spent the full season with Winnipeg but has spent time as a healthy scratch.  Overall, he has nine goals and two assists along with 64 penalty minutes in 44 games in 2018-19 and will figure into New York’s long-term plans as a bottom-six player.  He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract with a cap hit of just over $839K and will be a restricted free agent without salary arbitration rights this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

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With the trade deadline almost here, we continue our look at the situation for each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  As we continue previewing the Metropolitan Division, here is a look at the New York Rangers.

2018-19 hasn’t been the best of seasons for the Rangers but they were certainly ready for it after announcing their long-term rebuilding plans last year.  While they haven’t had a ton of success in the standings, several young players have had strong campaigns so it has been a decent season from a development perspective.  Even so, their situation is well-defined as they’ll be continuing to sell off assets.

Record

27-26-9, seventh in the Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$11.971MM in a full-season cap hit, 2/3 used salary cap retention slots, 43/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: NYR 1st, DAL 2nd*, NYR 2nd, TB 2nd^, NYR 3rd, NYR 5th, NYR 6th
2020: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, DAL 3rd*, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th, NSH 7th, VAN 7th

* – If Dallas wins two playoff rounds this year, the 2019 conditional pick becomes a first rounder.  If Mats Zuccarello re-signs with Dallas, the 2020 conditional pick becomes a first rounder.

^ – If Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup this season, this pick becomes a first rounder.

Trade Chips

Kevin Hayes is known to be on the market and has sat the last two games in advance of a move.  The pending unrestricted free agent is in the midst of a career year and has already collected 14 goals and 28 assists in just 51 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.  He is believed to be the best rental center available for trade after failing to come to terms on a long-term contract extension.  He has a $5.175MM cap hit and salary this season and was seeking a notable raise on a long-term deal to stay with the Rangers.  That might make it tricky for an acquiring team to sign an extension right away so similar to the Zuccarello deal, it’s likely there will be a 2020 draft pick that’s contingent on whether or not Hayes signs with the acquiring team.

The rental market isn’t very deep for defense which makes Adam McQuaid a little more appealing.  The Rangers acquired the veteran back in September for fourth and seventh rounders (along with depth blueliner Steven Kampfer) and given the lack of options, there’s a decent chance that New York will be able to match or even beat that return.

Winger Chris Kreider and defenseman Brady Skjei have also garnered a lot of interest but the odds of dealing them are lower.  Kreider has another year left on his deal and may make more sense as an offseason move while Skjei is in the first season of a six-year, $31.5MM contract and hasn’t had the best of seasons.  It would take a substantial offer for either to move.  Wingers Vladislav Namestnikov and Jimmy Vesey have also been in speculation and may have a better chance to move.

Five Players To Watch For: F Kevin Hayes, D Adam McQuaid, F Vladislav Namestnikov, D Rob O’Gara, F Jimmy Vesey

Team Needs

1) Top Defense Prospects: The Rangers have added quite a few young defenders already in trades (plus two more with first-round picks in June) but none of them really project to be top-pairing players.  While the sheer quantity of their additions will give them some NHL assets, they could really stand to dangle some of those along with a veteran or two in the hopes of adding someone that should be able to lock down a top-four spot in the near future.

2) Young Wingers: With Mika Zibanejad and rookies Brett Howden, Filip Chytil, and Lias Andersson, the center position in New York is in solid shape for the future.  The depth on the wing isn’t as strong.  While there are some young players in that group already, again, none really project as top-end players aside from 2018 first-rounder Vitali Kravtsov, who is still a little while away from being NHL-ready.  Whether it’s with their upcoming draft picks or their pending trades, that’s something they’re likely going to address in the near future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dallas Stars Trade For New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello

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Earlier in the day, the Dallas Stars added a defenseman. Now they’ve added a forward. TSN’s Darren Dreger confirmed that the Stars have acquired veteran forward Mats Zuccarello from the New York Rangers for a 2019 conditional second-round pick and a 2020 conditional third-round pick. Zuccarello is expected to join the team for Sunday’s game against Chicago.

The second-round pick becomes a first-rounder if Dallas wins two rounds in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, while the 2020 third-rounder can become a first-round pick if Dallas re-signs Zuccarello. The Rangers also retained 30 percent of his salary, according to CapFriendly.

“Mats is a legitimate top-six forward in this League who possesses a high level of speed, skill, compete and grit,” said Dallas general manager Jim Nill. “He will enhance our team in a number of ways.”

The Stars hope that Zuccarello will give them the offense they need to get their team into the playoffs this year. Dallas currently owns the first wild card spot in the playoffs as they are tied with Colorado with 65 points. However, the Minnesota Wild are just a point behind both team, while two more teams are within four points of Dallas. With the team struggling scoring goals beyond their first line, the team needed to bring in some offense at the trade deadline. Zuccarello, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, could provide that. The 31-year-old has 11 goals and 37 points so far this year and should be the perfect addition to the team’s struggling second line. Zaccarello has spent his entire career with the Rangers and has tallied 113 goals in 509 career NHL games.

Aside of getting the Rangers to retain 30 percent of Zuccarello’s salary, the Stars placed Martin Hanzal on long-term injured reserve, freeing up the necessary cap space for Dallas to acquire Zuccarello. Hanzal going to LTIR freed up $4.75MM in cap space.

While a pair of picks doesn’t seem like a big return, the Rangers have conditions on those picks. The Rangers could get a first-round pick in this year’s draft if the Stars win a divisional championship, which seems like a longshot, but New York can also get a first-round pick if Dallas can re-sign Zuccarello this summer.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the potential deal.

Latest On Mark Stone Trade Talks

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Trade chatter continues to increase surrounding the Ottawa Senators and Mark Stone, but TSN’s Bob McKenzie writes that while it may be a longshot, the Senators haven’t ruled out attempting to sign Stone to an extension. Of course, it would require Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk to make a bigger offer to Stone and it would require the 26-year-old to actually agree to stay in Ottawa, both which seem unlikely at this point.

Regardless, while the team is still hoping for a positive outcome, McKenzie adds that general manager Pierre Dorion remains focused on trading Stone and reports that the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames and the Boston Bruins remain the most interested teams, although Ottawa is talking to other teams as well.

The Jets have been mentioned for quite a while and have discussed moving their first-rounder as well as forward Jack Roslovic for starters, but will likely need to offer another significant prospects as well to net him, while Nashville has made it clear they will not be moving prospect Eeli Tolvanen in a rental situation, but are open to moving out some of their other prospects and have quite a bit of young depth ready who could immediately step into Ottawa’s lineup.

Other teams have made it clear they would want to know whether Stone would be willing to sign a long-term deal with them. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun writes that he believes the Calgary Flames would only be interested in acquiring Stone if they believe he will sign an extension with them. The problem is that Calgary would need to send Ottawa some salary back as part of any trade as the team only has $5.77MM in cap room to make a deal, well short of the $7.35MM that Stone makes.

The cost for Stone is currently considered to be very high, suggesting that a Stone trade may go down to the wire as teams will wait for the price to go down. Regardless, McKenzie writes that a potential long-drawn out process shouldn’t slow down other trades as many teams, who feel that they’ve been priced out will likely refocus their sights on New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello or New Jersey Devils’ Marcus Johansson.

Central Notes: Honka, Gustafsson, Hayden, Seabrook

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With a trade already completed earlier today, the Dallas Stars are continuing to look for help at the forward position. To do that, and with the addition of Ben Lovejoy today, Dallas may be ready to part ways with defenseman Julius Honka who has worn out his welcome, according to The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required).

The team has lost faith in the play of both Honka and Connor Carrick, who both were considered inconsistent and with the fact that the team has shown they would give more minutes to Gavin Bayreuther and Joel Hanley, both currently in the NHL, moving Honka would make sense. The 23-year-old was a first-rounder in 2014 and was highly-touted before arriving to the NHL, but he has struggled adjusting to the NHL, especially with his confidence. Regardless, many teams might be willing to give up a scorer to get their hands on a project like Honka.

Shapiro writes that while the Stars have some room under the salary cap and could acquire a player who makes up to $2.05MM, the team has a number of players who could be placed on long-term injured reserve, which could open up close to $8MM in cap room if needed due to the injuries of Martin Hanzal, Stephen Johns and Tyler Pitlick.

While general manager Jim Nill said that there are seven or eight forwards the team is looking at, there is no word who those might be, although Shapiro believes that the New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello is near the top of Dallas’  list.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have made it clear to inquiring teams they have no intention of moving defenseman Erik Gustafsson, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The team has been impressed by his offensive skills as he has 43 points in 59 games this season. He’s also tied for second among all NHL defensemen with 11 primary assists in 5-on-5 play and tied for seventh among all defensemen with 20 primary assists in all strengths. However, the team is still trying to trade John Hayden, who has played less than 10 minutes in 17 of his last 19 games.
  • Sticking with the Blackhawks, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus writes that defenseman Brent Seabrook, who has been out since Feb. 16 with a abdominal strain, could potentially return Sunday. The 33-year-old still averages 19:47 in ATOI this year and has five goals and 23 points for Chicago this year. Marcus Kruger, who is out with a foot injury, remains day-to-day.

 

Trade Rumors: Hart, Elliott, Tolvanen, Rangers, Senators

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Some bad news on one player could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in regards to another. The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that rookie sensation Carter Hart will be out at least ten days with a lower-body injury. Hart has been playing phenomenally this season and his absence could end what little hope the Flyers had of reaching the postseason this year. However, it will force the team to start Brian Elliott tonight in their Stadium Series game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philly’s final game before the deadline. Recent acquisition Cam Talbot is still new to the team and unable to jump in net just yet. However, Talbot’s presence makes Elliott expendable and the Flyers are known to be shopping him. The team tried to move Elliott to the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Talbot return, but ended up trading away the younger Anthony Stolarz. However, with playoff-bound teams like the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights in need of reinforcements in net, Elliott is very much still in play. A strong performance on a grand stage tonight could be enough to convince those kicking the tires to take a shot on Elliott. Moreso, the injury news on Hart could be the final straw for new GM Chuck Fletcher, as he is still allegedly unsure of whether to sell or not at the deadline. With Elliott, Wayne Simmonds, Michael Raffl, and several others drawing interest, Fletcher should be more encouraged to part with those pieces now that his stud goaltender is out for what could be weeks.

  • The New York Rangers are one of the most talked-about teams as the deadline approaches, as rentals Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, and Adam McQuaid and even term players like Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov are drawing considerable interest. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the Nashville Predators are one of the teams in talks with the Rangers, but it appears that one of their best assets may be off the table. Brooks reports that the Predators will not trade 2017 first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen for a rental this season. Nashville does not have interest in Hayes, but has looked into Zuccarello, however they won’t offer up Tolvanen to land him. Brooks believes Tolvanen would only be available to the Rangers in a deal for Kreider. The talented Finnish forward has only seen limited NHL action thus far, but is still coveted by sellers – not only the Rangers – for his potential. In this scenario, it’s the sellers who may have to ante up with a signed player to get the prized prospect. As for the Rangers, they may have better luck getting a top return for Zuccarello elsewhere. Brooks states that the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams pursuing the veteran winger, while a report yesterday stated some contenders are willing to pay the price to package Zucarello and Hayes together.
  • Meanwhile, the price for McQuaid has gone up significantly today following the trade of Ben Lovejoy to the Dallas Stars. McQuaid is arguably the top rental defenseman left on the market, currently ranked No. 21 overall on TSN’s Trade Bait List. With the trade statuses of Alex Edler, Niklas Kronwall, Cody Ceci, and others still unclear, McQuaid looks like the top target for defense-needy teams versus the likes of Michael Del Zotto and Bogdan Kiselevich. McQuaid is by no means a star or season-changing acquisition, but he is likely the best available defenseman even as just a physical, stay-at-home defender. If the New Jersey Devils can draw a third-round pick and young roster player for Lovejoy, the Rangers are suddenly looking at second-round territory with McQuaid. To protect their top trade assets, New York will not play McQuaid, Zuccarello, or Hayes today, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
  • Many have felt that the allure of the free agent market for Matt Duchene and Mark Stone and the caliber of return the Ottawa Senators could get for trading them left Ryan Dzingel as the most likely of the trio to re-sign with the team. That certainly isn’t going to be the case. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Dzingel recently turned down a five-year extension offer worth more than $20MM, a significant pay raise over his current $1.8MM cap hit. After that, the team made the definitive decision to trade him before the deadline. Garrioch adds that Stone also rejected the Senators’ last offer, and eight-year pact of unknown value, but the team has not yet completely closed the door on a new deal. They continue to take offers on the star winger though, as Garrioch writes that the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, and Tampa Bay Lightning are the team’s most involved in Stone talks. He believes the Bruins are also interested in Dzingel. It remains to be seen who ends up with Stone or Dzingel and how the returns compare to that of Duchene, but one way or another the Senators are walking away from the deadline with a complete lack of star power on the roster, but a massive influx of picks and prospects to show for it.

Snapshots: Edler, Rangers, Kinkaid

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The Vancouver Canucks have maintained all along that they would like to work out an extension with Alex Edler, and today GM Jim Benning said just that once again. Edler is on an expiring deal and could potentially provide some veteran defense for a contending team, but is so valuable to the Canucks as a legacy player and mentor for young Swedish star Elias Pettersson.

Edler, 32, has been effective when in the lineup this season but has had trouble staying healthy once again. The veteran of 796 NHL games has only played all 82 in a season once during his long career, and no more than 74 in a season since 2011-12. He is currently on injured reserve and carries a cap hit of $5MM.

  • With Matt Duchene and potentially Artemi Panarin off the market after today’s trade, teams looking for offense will have to look elsewhere. The New York Rangers are one of the clubs with expiring assets that could be difference makers, and Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that several teams have expressed interest in acquiring both Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello together. A package like that would certainly cost a lot, but bringing in two legitimate top-six options with familiarity and playoff experience could be seen as quite the answer to Duchene’s arrival in Columbus today.
  • Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports that the New Jersey Devils “would like to move” goaltender Keith Kinkaid, but there isn’t much of a market at this point.  It wasn’t so long ago that Kinkaid looked to be stealing the starting job from Corey Schneider and setting himself up for a potential long-term contract, but the 29-year old has struggled immensely this season and provides little upside. With the emergence of MacKenzie Blackwood as a potential NHL goaltender next season, Kinkaid’s expiring contract will likely not be renewed by the Devils.

Trade Rumors: Ho-Sang, Simmonds, Bruins

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While the trade deadline generally centers around the teams and the general managers making the big decisions, the players are usually well aware of what is going on and where they stand as well. New York Islanders prospect Josh Ho-Sang has been the odd man out this season and knows his time with the club could be be up. He spoke honestly with The Athletic’s Arthur Staple today, saying that he is open to being traded:

I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know what they want to do with me. I’m not opposed to (being traded) if it helps the Islanders get better. For me, obviously I want to play in the NHL, that’s my main focus. For them, if they need to trade me for pieces to go further in the playoffs, improve the great team they have, then I’m all for it.

It’s a well-put statement by Ho-Sang, but one easily interpreted as being from a player ready for a change of scenery. The 2014 first-round pick has only played in ten games with the Islanders this season, after skating in 20+ in each of the past two years. Meanwhile, this has been his best AHL season, as he has scored at a near point-per-game clip through 39 games. Ho-Sang’s game can be streaky and frustrating at times, but his ability is undeniable. As the Islanders move toward adding a top rental ahead of the deadline, a seller will likely be interested in taking a waiver on Ho-Sang’s upside if his time in New York is truly over.

  • It’s been pretty quiet around Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds of late, but TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that “interest has intensified” over the last couple of days. LeBrun speculates that the Flyers’ recent streak of success may have quelled the Simmonds market as the team became re-focused on a playoff push, but he feels the results of their next few games will ultimately determine if and when Simmonds is dealt. More likely than not, the impending free agent power forward will be playing elsewhere by Monday.
  • Even after the Charlie Coyle acquisition, many believe that the Boston Bruins are not done. TSN’s Darren Dreger applauded the trade, but noted that the Bruins did not have to give up much and are likely still in the market for another scoring forward. The Bruins announced this evening that center Trent Frederic has been assigned to the AHL and winger Peter Cehlarik has been recalled, further enforcing the idea that Boston prefers to play Coyle at third-line center. That would still leave a hole on the second line next to David Krejci. Dreger names New York Rangers Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes as among those the Bruins are targeting to further help out their secondary scoring.

New York Rangers Recall Lias Andersson

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In a move that may signify more than just a reward for a young prospect, Lias Andersson has been recalled by the New York Rangers. The team has placed Brett Howden on injured reserve to make room on the roster, but it could point to the team preparing to sit out some of their high priced trade assets ahead of Monday’s deadline. The Rangers have three games in four nights before the deadline passes, and players like Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello are drawing plenty of interest from around the league.

Andersson, 20, was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft and made his NHL debut last season with the Rangers. He was given an even bigger chance this year by getting into 21 games, but failed to make much of an offensive impact and found himself back in the minor leagues. The talented Swedish center has 20 points in 36 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, but still has immense upside and will likely be a huge part of the Rangers short rebuild.

The Rangers of course don’t have to pull players like Hayes and Zuccarello out of the lineup, but with the chance of trade over the next few days still exceedingly high it would benefit them to protect their assets. The trade market is being held hostage right now by the top names like Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin, but Hayes and Zuccarello have already drawn plenty of interest from around the league.

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