The New York Rangers have traded defenseman Nils Lundkvist to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick, The Athletic‘s Shayna Goldman reported Monday.
Lundkvist, 22, scored one goal and four points while averaging 13:56 in 25 games with the Rangers during the 2021–22 regular season. He did not make any appearances with the Rangers during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Reports surfaced last week indicating Lundkvist did not plan on attending the Rangers’ 2022 training camp and had requested a trade away from the team.
The 5-foot-11 right-handed defenseman is under contract for the next two seasons at a $925K NHL cap hit. Goldman also reported the deal involves a conditional fourth-round pick switching hands.
The Rangers originally selected Lundkvist in the first round (No. 28 overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. The Pitea, Sweden product spent his first three post-draft seasons with Lulea HF in the Swedish Hockey League before signing an entry-level contract with the Rangers in June 2021.
Lundkvist split the 2021–22 season between the Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, scoring three goals and 15 points in 34 games with the affiliate club.
The Stars’ defensive group now features Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Ryan Suter, Colin Miller, Lundkvist, Jani Hakanpaa, Thomas Harley, Will Butcher, and Joel Hanley.
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