The New York Rangers have traded forward Vitali Kravtsov to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Will Lockwood and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said two weeks ago on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Kravtsov had asked the Rangers for a trade.
Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshn had been held out of the lineup for roster management reasons these past couple of games.
In 28 games with the Rangers, Vitali Kravtsov, the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, has registered six points (three goals and three assists). In total, Kravtsov has registered just 10 points (five goals and five assists) in 48 games in the NHL.
As Rick Dhaliwal notes, the Canucks and Rangers had talked about Kravtsov earlier in the week, but the belief was the price was too night. And it appears he is excited to head out West to Vancouver where he will get an opportunity to play.
There was not much of a market for Kravtsov as Darren Dreger of TSN notes, but this is a low-risk high reward for the Canucks for a player that does not have much NHL experience.
Meanwhile, the 64th overall pick (third round) in the 2016 NHL Draft, Lockwood has one assist in 13 games with the Canucks this season. With Leschyshn going on waivers during the Rangers-Washington Capitals game and Kravtsov being traded the pieces are falling into place for the Rangers to acquire Patrick Kane.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period reported, the Canucks were one of the teams that were going to be a third-party broker in a Patrick Kane deal between the Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.
With the Rangers needing cap space to make additional moves at the trade deadline, general manager Chris Drury took what he could for Kravtsov.
Now all eyes are on the Rangers and Blackhawks for when and if a Patrick Kane trade happens.
Ryan Lindgren left the game against the Capitals with an upper-body injury and his left arm in a sling per Larry Brooks. If he is going to miss the rest of the season, he will go on long-term injured reserve, which makes a Kane deal even easier. If the injury is more short-term, the Rangers will have to wait until March 1st to make this deal.
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