In a trade just for the NHL deadline, the Rangers have dealt defenseman Brady Skjei to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a first round pick in the 2020 draft.  The move frees up $5.25M a year for the next four years, allowing them some room to negotiate wiht pending free agents Alexandar Georgiev, Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Strome and Brendan Lemieux.

The former first round draft pick of the Rangers has struggled since his rookie season, failing to convert on a contract that looked to lock in term in exchange for protection against the latter years back in 2018.  The contract unfrotunately ended up coinciding with the Rangers rebuild, and a drop off in form that has seen him drop from a carer high of 39 points in his 2016-17 rookie season, to 25, 25 and 23 (ikn 61 ygames before the trade) over the last three seasons.

He’s also been a negative plus-minus player in each of those years, failing to progress as the balanced defender who could use his size and speed at both ends of the rink.

By trading to Carolina the Rangers have a shot at getting a draft eligible first round pick, but also face the prospect of allowing a team they’re chasing a boost in the rush for the wildcard spots.  Still with Kreider resigning, and the rest of the team remaining intact, the damage to this year’s chances is relatively limited, and at the same time they’ve freed up some money to allow them to help keep the team largely together over the summer if they so choose to.