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After exploring all the possibilities, the Rangers announced Monday the trading deadline just about where they thought they were. That is, they continued this rebuilding by shipping the present and focusing on the future.
The trio of unrestricted stand-alone players on hold has disappeared: General Manager Jeff Gorton has sent Kevin Hayes to the Jets in exchange for a first round pick, 22-year-old striker, Brendan Lemieux, Jr. from the old Claude Devil. – plus a fourth round pick in 2022 if Winnipeg wins the Stanley Cup. As no salary was withheld, the Jets took full value in proportion to the one-year agreement signed by Hayes, amounting to $ 5.175 million, signed last summer.
Gorton then transferred defenseman Adam McQuaid to the Blue Jackets, picking up the fourth and seventh-round selections (plus Steven Kampfer) needed for his Bruins acquisition in September, as well as 23-year-old defenseman Julius Bergman.
While fans' favorite, Mats Zuccarello, was handed out to the Stars on Sunday, Gorton continues to stockpile assets in an effort to speed up the process started on February 8, 2018, when the reception sent a letter to fans to explain the difficult process to come.
"I think we knew pretty much what the prices would be," said Gorton during a conference call. "I would say we met, or hopefully, our expectations."
The team was at a stalemate with Hayes, the 26-year-old growing center that spent part of the five seasons playing for Blues. This same obstacle – the duration of the transaction – will probably prevent him from returning as a free agent on July 1st.
"We had several interviews with his agent, Bob Murray, and we had something in mind that we thought could work," said Gorton. "But at the end of the day, we felt as if, right now, where the organization was, exchanging Kevin was our best course of action to try to get the most assets possible."
Hayes seemed rather happy to land in Winnipeg, a legitimate Stanley Cup candidate currently at the top of the Central Division. The hard-hitting Bostonian admitted that his freshman head coach David Quinn, along with his predecessor Alain Vigneault, had turned him into a more complete player, and he seemed equally enthusiastic about playing for the Jets. Rangers.
"I tried not to think about it, but it certainly plays a role and it's very moving to say goodbye to some of these guys," Hayes said in a phone call. "But I'm excited to be here and excited to finally be able to play for a Stanley Cup and play with a good team."
The most immediate evaluation of the return will take place with Lemieux, who should be training Tuesday and then training for Wednesday night's game at the Garden against the Lightning. He has played 44 games with the Jets this season, scoring nine goals and 11 points. It certainly brings an advantage. Last season with Manitoba Moose, he was the first player in the AHL since 2014-15 to score at least 40 points and 150 penalty minutes.
"I think we're going to give him a pretty big opportunity here," said Gorton, "with a little ice time, playing in training and seeing what he can do for us right now. "
Bergman has to start with AHL Hartford, and the Rangers have also cleaned up by signing Boo Nieves and Steven Fogarty to one-year deals.
But the bottom line is that the organization now has a cache of assets, including five selections in the first two rounds of this project. They will also have a lot of space under the salary cap and will certainly be players in the free agent market on July 1st.
So, as difficult as it may have been to do some of the trades, it was all part of the Rangers plan to prepare for the future, hoping they would come as soon as possible.
"We've added a lot of assets and that gives us some flexibility," said Gorton. "Our team has a lot of opportunities to improve, hopefully pretty quickly."
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