New York Rangers Recall Libor Hajek
When the New York Rangers decided to sell off some of their key players last year and start a rebuild, they acquired some impressive names. Ryan Lindgren and Brett Howden had relatively high prospect profiles due to their success on the international stage, both winning World Junior gold medals in recent years. Both players have made their debuts for the Rangers this season, and look like they will be big parts of the team going forward. The Rangers got another prospect in the Ryan McDonagh trade though, who some referred to as the key piece. Libor Hajek, who at the time was tearing it up in the WHL, has now been recalled by the Rangers for the first time in his professional career.
If Hajek, 21, is the key to the McDonagh deal, there might be something to worry about. The young defenseman has struggled in his first year at the AHL level, recording just five points in 58 games and tallying a team-worst -26 rating. While there is obviously more to a defenseman’s game than just those statistics, Hajek has routinely looked overmatched against professional players and at times looks lost in his own end. That junior player who made extremely quick decisions and could evade forecheckers even with his large frame hasn’t been there on a consistent basis.
Still, Hajek only turned 21 a few weeks ago and has been given every opportunity to continue his development. The Rangers organization knows that they have to keep him on the ice for him to experience any growth, and will now give him a taste of the NHL to take back down with him. There’s still plenty of time for the 2016 37th-overall pick to become the all-situations defender that many believed he could be just a year ago, and the next step towards that will happen in New York.
2019 Trade Deadline Day Recap
The trade deadline for the 2018-19 season has come and gone, with teams all around the league loading up for a Stanley Cup run. This year saw a nearly unprecedented level of skill available, though things got started quite early. Before deadline day, names like Matt Duchene, Brandon Montour, Mats Zuccarello, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Dzingel, Gustav Nyquist and Nick Jensen all switched teams. However, the day was no disappointment; a slow pace early on ended in fireworks right before the deadline and as deal trickled in right after. Below is a complete list of the 21 trades featuring all but seven of the NHL’s teams made on February 25th alone (chronologically):
To Anaheim Ducks:
D Patrick Sieloff
To Ottawa Senators:
F Brian Gibbons
To New Jersey Devils:
2022 fifth-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
G Keith Kinkaid
To Winnipeg Jets:
F Kevin Hayes
To New York Rangers:
F Brendan Lemieux
2019 first-round pick (top-3 protected)
2022 conditional fourth-round pick (if Winnipeg wins Stanley Cup)
To Montreal Canadiens:
F Jordan Weal
To Arizona Coyotes:
F Michael Chaput
To Florida Panthers:
F Cliff Pu
Future Considerations
To Carolina Hurricanes:
F Tomas Jurco (AHL contract)
Future Considerations
To Colorado Avalanche:
F Derick Brassard
2020 conditional sixth-round pick (no pick if Brassard re-signs)
To Florida Panthers:
2020 third-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
D Adam McQuaid
To New York Rangers:
D Julius Bergman
2019 fourth-round pick
2019 seventh-round pick
Adam McQuaid Traded To Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets have already pushed quite a few chips to the middle of the table, and now will throw a tip to the dealer. Adam McQuaid is the latest player to be acquired by the Blue Jackets according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, while Darren Dreger of TSN adds that the New York Rangers will receive a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2019 seventh-round pick. The Rangers’ confirmation of the deal adds that minor league defenseman Julius Bergman was also included in the return.
With this trade, the Rangers recoup the same picks they traded to the Boston Bruins to get McQuaid this off-season, essentially renting the physical blue liner for five months at the cost of depth defender Steven Kampfer. The asking price for McQuaid was rumored to be at least a third-round pick. Following the Dallas Stars’ acquisition of a similar veteran defenseman in Ben Lovejoy from the New Jersey Devils yesterday for a third-rounder and young defenseman Connor Carrick, that price was expected to go up. However, it seems the market never really developed for McQuaid despite the lack of quality rental defenders on the trade block.
The Blue Jackets made their two big trades before deadline day, adding former Ottawa Senators forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, but continue to address their depth in other areas with a second value addition today. After adding former New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid as a solid third-string option in net for just a future fifth-round pick, they add a nice complementary piece on the blue line in McQuaid. Solidifying their defensive depth has been a need for the Blue Jackets and McQuaid fits the bill. The 6’4″, 210-lb. defender is an experienced pro with a Stanley Cup title to his name – the only Blue Jacket with that claim – and brings a strong, physical presence to the right side. McQuaid is likely to slot in as an everyday bottom-pair defenseman for Columbus down the stretch and in the postseason.
Columbus is likely done for the day and for good reason. Although they have addressed many needs and have found good value in several trades, the McQuaid acquisition leaves the Blue Jackets with just their own third-round pick and the Calgary Flames’ seventh-round pick to represent their entire 2019 draft class. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has undoubtedly decided to go all in this season to get Columbus deep into the postseason for the first time in franchise history, but has done so at the cost of the pipeline. The question now is whether it was all worth it.
New York Rangers Sign Boo Nieves, Steven Forgarty To One-Year Extensions
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.