Just days after he was re-assigned to Hartford, Garth Murray was traded today to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for left wing Marcel Hossa.  Hossa, the younger brother of Atlanta center Marian Hossa, has not lived up to expectations with the Canadiens, after the team selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2000 draft.  The Slovak native has however managed 10 goals in 59 NHL appearances over three seasons and was tied for second on the Canadiens team in the preseason with 6 points (2-4-6).

In exchange, the Rangers dealt from a position of strength, sending grinding forward Garth Murray to Montreal.  Murray had struggled with the Rangers since turning pro, dealing with a number of injuries and failing to develop much in the way of offense to support his physical play.  The Canadian born Winger appeared in 20 NHL games with the Rangers in 2003-04 after the trade deadline purge, registering a solitary goal and 24 penalty minutes.

Analysis:  The Rangers don’t lose a lot by dealing Murray, with Ryan Hollweg, Craig Weller, Jason Ward and a number of other players able to play a similar role on the team.  However, it is uncertain what the Rangers plans are with Hossa, who appears will be hard pressed to force himself onto the Rangers roster with Straka, Rucinsky and Nieminen likely to be slotted in front of him on the left wing and 4th wing duties not really suited to his style of play.