The New York Rangers acquired a top-four veteran defenseman when they picked up Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks.
The Rangers officially announced the trade on July 1. They sent a conditional first-round pick in 2030 to get Pettersson from Vancouver, who did not retain any salary in the deal.
The condition is that the pick is top-10 protected.
Pettersson has five more years left on his current contract at $5.5 million per season. He waived his no-movement clause to facilitate the trade from the rebuilding Canucks.
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Marcus Pettersson is a Top-4 Defenseman
Pettersson is a very solid defender who has played for the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Canucks during his nine-year NHL career. He has played 604 games with 21 goals and 180 points.
The 30-year-old Swede was originally drafted by the Ducks with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. After playing his first two seasons in Anaheim, he was traded to Pittsburgh and then sent to the Canucks at last year’s trade deadline.
But with the Canucks in the midst of a clear rebuild, the team sent him packing and to the Rangers, who needed a top-four defenseman.
After trading away Pettersson, the Canucks signed Jamie Oleksiak to replace him on the team’s blueline.
Overall, it’s a tidy bit of business for new Canucks GM Ryan Johnson, who recently took over the general manager role and who is quickly getting to work improving the team.
Rangers Defense Looking Improved
With Pettersson in the fold, the Rangers’ defense for next season currently looks like this:
- Adam Fox-Vladislav Gavrikov
- Marcus Pettersson-Sean Durzi
- Matthew Robertson-Braden Schneider
- Urho Vaakanainen
It’s a solid top seven defense, especially since the team dealt away Will Borgen on July 1 to the Boston Bruins to make room for Pettersson and Durzi, who the team picked up from the Utah Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck trade.
The Rangers were the worst team in the Eastern Conference this past season, but the team is hopeful they can bounce back next year and get back to being a powerhouse in the East like they were several seasons prior.
Rangers Acquire Top-4 Veteran Defenseman