After being scratched for Monday’s game in anticipation of a trade, Alex Wennberg has been traded from the Seattle Kraken to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2025 fourth-round draft pick. The Kraken are retaining 50 percent ($2.25 million) in the deal.
This is a weak year in terms of depth center availability at the trade deadline, Wennberg stands out as one of the better options. The defense-first 29-year-old should slot in as the Rangers’ third-line center. With the season-ending injury to Filip Chytil, Wennberg fills that hole well and can add great depth to the forward group.
The condition of the fourth-round pick is centered around Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist. If he is to reach 55 points on the season, the pick upgrades to a third-round pick. Lundkvist has 15 points in 45 games this season.
Rangers Improve Center Depth
Wennberg has spent much of the season in Seattle’s top six, though his production would indicate he is most likely better off in a depth position. The good news for both him and the Rangers is that he’s likely going to be playing on the third line behind Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck.
Wennberg’s statistical profile leaves a bit to be desired considering he’s been averaging nearly 19 minutes a game, but he certainly could find the offensive game he had back in 2016-17 (where he scored 59 points) in a more sheltered role against weaker competition. In 60 games this season, he’s tallied nine goals and 25 points while sporting an expected goals share (xGF%) of 50.22%. His defensive game is certainly his best asset, being able to shut down the opposition’s top players on a nightly basis. He should get some penalty-killing time as well.
Wennberg is in the last leg of his three-year, $4.5 million AAV contract, so he will, in all likelihood, just be a rental for the Rangers for their Stanley Cup run.
Kraken Gain Draft Capital
After last season’s great success, this year hasn’t gone quite right for the Kraken, who are comfortably out of a playoff spot 75% through the season. In acquiring a pair of draft picks, they are adding more quality and quantity to their already strong prospect pool.
It was originally reported that Wennberg and the Kraken were working on a contract extension, but the team decided to move on to gain some assets for him instead.
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