Brendan Lemieux asked for a trade before the Rangers gave him away to the Kings

Yes the Rangers wanted to free up space on the list and yes the Rangers wanted to free some space under the hood.

But the Post learned that by giving Brendan Lemieux to the Kings for a fourth-round pick last Saturday, the Rangers also allowed a request from the left-winger’s side that he be transferred to a team he could win in. a more significant role. role.

“It’s going to give Pepe the opportunity to maybe play a little more of a role he’s looking for,” said David Quinn, whose team will face the Sabers in Buffalo on Thursday. “He was a good player for us and he will be missed.”

The coach used the nickname of the player he inherited from his father, Claude, who is also his agent and who communicated the trade request to general manager Jeff Gorton.

It is believed to have sped up the trading process, although the team could have attempted to offer him an offer as the April 12 trade deadline approaches.

But the Blueshirts were indeed facing a numbers crisis up front with the arrival of Vitali Kravtsov from Russia; The return of Phil DiGiuseppe from the COVID list; Brett Howden’s imminent return of the COVID protocol; and Morgan Barron’s planned promotion, but likely not before membership limits are lifted in conjunction with the deadline.

So as long as there was time, there was no time like the present.

The 25-year-old had become locked in a fourth row assignment in his third season in New York, getting an average ice time of 10:13 by, a full 2:29 short of the 12:52 he had. won. 78 games in his year and more as a Ranger. He had been in good health twice this season, on March 9 in Pittsburgh. It carries a cap of $ 1.55 million until the end of 2021-2022.

Of course, when Lemieux arrived at the Blueshirts with a first-round player from Winnipeg in exchange for Kevin Hayes just before the 2019 trade deadline, the Rangers had yet to sign Artemi Panarin. And when Lemieux was in the third row for most of the first half of last season, the Blueshirts had yet to draft Alexis Lafrenière. Of course, there’s also Chris Kreider, signed until 2026-27.

Lemieux, always ready to come to the aid of his teammates, played quite a few first six minutes immediately after joining the club. This included power play time as a presence on the net front. His assignment shifted to a stable third-line position for the first months of 2019-2020, during which he was a leading agitator.

But the fault line for Lemieux’s Broadway run came when he broke his thumb on December 27, 2019. When he returned three weeks later, Howden had been moved from the middle to the wing and usurped his thumb. place on the third unit. So Lemieux played on the fourth row, the same assignment he did this year.

If you don’t get consistent time on the power play or kill penalties, the fourth row ice will be relatively limited.

Lemieux’s effectiveness declined even though he was as combative and obnoxious as ever. His hands seemed to betray him. He had a positive differential on minor penalties taken and drawn (plus-2 this season after a plus-11 a year ago, by Evolving-Hockey), and he was more stuffy than ever. But he was also inclined to take the wrong penalty at the wrong time. He recorded seven points (2-5) in 31 games.

The Rangers don’t necessarily have a replacement squad for Lemieux, who would almost certainly have been there for Seattle’s pick in the expansion draft. The Blueshirts don’t really have an agitator and they don’t really have a deterrent, although it’s fair to wonder how many real deterrents exist in evolved NHL play.

But Ryan Lindgren and Brendan Smith are always willing to mix it up with opponents who abuse their teammates. They seem to revel in it, in fact. And Sunday in Washington, when Kevin Rooney was knocked out by TJ Oshie on a stroke moments after an offside whistle, Colin Blackwell immediately jumped out the Caps winger. It’s an illustration of the pack mentality the team will need for the rest of the way.

The Rangers needed to clear some space on the roster. They wanted to clear some space under the hood. Lemieux asked for the chance to go elsewhere where he could compete for a more meaningful role.

Three for three. Mission accomplished.