From TSN:
Sources tell TSN the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers have completed a trade. The Rangers will get Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche, with Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman going to Columbus.
Well, this is a doozy of a deal. To be honest, I like it from both sides. The Rangers solidified their defense on Tuesday with the signing of Wade Redden and that made Fedor Tyutin expendable. Additionally, they were looking for someone to take Christian Backman off their hands. This will enable them to have more room to spend under the cap. In this trade, the Rangers get a forward in Zherdev that has top-six talent. While he has been a bit of an enigma since he was drafted, he doesn't lack for skill. The Rangers also picked up Dan Fritsche who can solidify their third/fourth line. Fristche is feisty and is a solid up and down winger. His hands are nothing to write home about, but he is a serviceable young forward.
As for Columbus, they pick up two solid defensemen. The key to this trade for Columbus is clearly Tyutin. The young Russian defender is tough, can log big minutes and is a very solid defensive-defenseman. As well, he is young and still has room to become even better. In Backman, the Blue Jackets get someone they will probably put on their third-pairing.
2 comments:
This is a big trade? This appears to be a swap of career underachievers. How many playoff series wins do we have from these four players? Two? The Rangers and Blue Jackets could have swapped Christian Dube/Harry York for Espen Knutsen/Sean Pronger and I would have felt the same way about their prospects for next season.
Zherdev was great last year until March/April. I think Hitchcock was a good influence on him and wonder how he will play in New York.
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