The 2011 Trade Deadline has passed, and the Rangers limited their dealings with just the addition of 26 year old center John Mitchell from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2012 seventh round pick.
Going into the day, there was plenty of press about the possibility of Brad Richards joining the team from Dallas. As it turned out, the price remained too high with Artem Anisimov, a 1st round pick, a prospect and perhaps another roster player being the price – according to Larry Brooks of the NY Post.
There were few other blue chip players on offer, and thus the Rangers elected instead to add a little more depth with the addition of Mitchell, who could well return to the AHL for the first time since 2007-08, or could stay with the Rangers as added insurance against injury. The move could also allow Kris Newbury to be sent down.
In three seasons, the 6-1, 204lb Canadian born forward has appeared in 159 games with the Maple Leafs, recording 20 goals, 35 assists and 76 penalty minutes. He is on a one year $750K deal, and becomes an RFA this summer.
The Rangers also got some mixed news on the injury front today with GM Glen Sather saying that he doesn’t believe Chris Drury will make it back from a knee injury this season. The Rangers’ captain has appeared in just 23 games, and has missed 41 games through injuries to his finger and knee.
Martin Biron could miss the rest of the regular season as well after suffering a broken collar bone in practice today. The Rangers have called up Cam Talbot from the AHL to backup Henrik Lundqvist, who now figures to start most, if not all of the remaining 18 games.
Marc Staal and Ruslan Fedotenko both skated today, but remain questionable for tomorrow night’s match-up with the Sabres. Marian Gaborik did not skate, and remains sidelined with concussion like symptoms.