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.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have acquired forward Will Lockwood and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 Draft from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Vitali Kravtsov.
Details ⤵️ https://t.co/GwfIdbkVdC
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 25, 2023
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.
UPDATE: Vitali Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn will not be available to play today due to roster management reasons.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 25, 2023
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.
Milstein did not think Kravtsov would end up in VAN, earlier in week it did not look like it would happen but now he has 6 clients in Vancouver.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) February 25, 2023
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.
GG on the Kravtsov trade: "It gives him a fresh opportunity. He was a good kid here. He came and worked hard every day with us. It’s just an opportunity for our team. Kravy is moving on & I wish him nothing but the best… We just couldn’t find a spot in our lineup for him." #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 25, 2023
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.
Vitali Kravtsov has very little NHL experience at this point, but is worth the low-risk, minimal return the Canucks just spent. pic.twitter.com/a8tXADNPjM
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 25, 2023
If #NYR trades Kravtsov today, & sends Leschyshyn down tomorrow, with no other roster moves, they would have room for Kane @ 25% ($2.625M) cap hit starting March 1. They could do it sooner by sending someone else down or including them in a tradehttps://t.co/00zTCjeQPm https://t.co/XQ971zWOO7
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) February 25, 2023
After trading Kravtsov ($875K) #NYR have $433K Proj Cap Space, which can fit $1.67M Annual Cap Hit Today.
If Leschyshyn ($767K) down tmrw, can fit Kane @ $2.625M on March 1.
Alternatively, could fit Kane sooner by:
-Lindgren LTIR
-Other player off Rosterhttps://t.co/00zTCjeQPm https://t.co/skQ0kjcVUr pic.twitter.com/eS5lq5UM2J— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) February 25, 2023
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.
The #NYR have been trying to move Kravtsov for quite some time, but found the market to be underwhelming. Drury held and held him, hoping he would eventually get a team to come up, but it never materialized. With the need for cap space now, they had to take what they could get.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 25, 2023
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.