In his third move of the day, Chris Drury added fourth line forward Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for a 2023 4th round pick. Motte marks the third forward that Drury has acquired this deadline, joining wing Frank Vatrano acquired three days ago, and depth forward Nicholas Merkley added from San Jose earlier in the day.
With the addition of Motte, the Rangers have added a hard working center who can play in the bottom six, having averaged just over fourteen minutes a game for the Canucks. A UFA in the Summer, Motte can kill penalties and helps the defensive side of the game. Though he’s not a big offensive producer, he is close to his career highs this season, with 7 goals and 15 points both near his best year of 2018-19 where he put up 9 goals and 16 points respectively.
With 260 games in his career, including short stints with Chicago and Columbus, Motte has appeared in just one post season, registering 4 goals and 1 assist in 17 matches during the 2020 playoffs.
Motte will have at least one familiar face on the Rangers, having been part of the same trade that sent Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2017.