Ahead of the Patrick Kane trade announcement, the Rangers have made a minor deal, sending towering 6-7 right wing Austin Rueschhoff to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations.  The 25 year old is yet to play in the NHL, and is set to be a Group VI UFA this Summer.

Signed in the spring of 2020 out of Western Michigan University, the lanky native of Missouri played in 113 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, tallying 20 goals and 23 assists along with 92 penalty minutes.  With the addition of Will Lockwood in the Vitali Kravtsov trade, chances were that Rueschhoff could have seen his ice time further reduced, so moving him to Nashville gives him a bit more of a chance to play out the season and perhaps earn a pro contract for next season.

In addition, the Rangers sent down forward Ryan Carpenter and recalled Braden Schneider in preparation for tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.  Schneider had been sent down in order to save enough Cap space to acquire Patrick Kane, while Carpenter helped the Rangers stay at the minimum 20 active players required for teams under the Cap.