NHL notebook: Zibanejad on move to Rangers
The New York Rangers acquired forward Mika Zibanejad from Ottawa Senators on Monday in exchange for forward Derick Brassard.
As part of the trade, the Rangers acquired a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft from the Senators, who also get a seventh-round pick in the same draft.
Zibanejad, 23, skated in 81 games with Ottawa last season, registering 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) and 18 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in several categories in 2015-16, including games played, goals, assists, points, game-winning goals (seven) and faceoff win percentage (50.5)
Zibanejad helped Ottawa reach the playoffs in two seasons during his tenure with the team (2012-13 and 2014-15). In 16 career NHL playoff games, the Stockholm, Sweden, native has two goals and six assists. Zibanejad was selected by Ottawa in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2011 NHL draft.
Brassard, 28, played in 254 games with the Rangers over parts of four seasons, recording 174 points (69 goals, 105 assists).
Brassard was selected in the first round (sixth overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 draft. After spending the first five-plus seasons of his career with Columbus, he has spent the last three-plus seasons with the Rangers.
Brassard established a new NHL career high with a team-leading 27 goals for the Rangers in 2015-16. His 58 points ranked second among New York players in scoring last season. The Gatineau, Quebec, native, has recorded 343 points (127 goals, 216 assists) and 294 penalty minutes over 563 career NHL games. He also has 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) and 30 penalty minutes over 59 NHL playoff games, all of which have occurred with New York.
--The New York Rangers agreed to terms with forward Robin Kovacs on an entry-level.
Kovacs, 19, played in 44 games with AIK IF of Allsvenskan in Sweden last season, registering 21 goals, 13 assists and 54 penalty minutes. He was named the winner of Guldgallret, which is an award given annually to the top junior player (20 years old or younger) in Allsvenskan in 2015-16.
The 6-foot, 186-pound Kovacs helped AIK win the league championship.
--The Dallas Stars signed right winger Matej Stransky to a one-year, two-way contract.
Stransky, 23, registered 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in 74 games for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League in 2015-16. His 23 goals and eight power play goals both ranked second on Texas for the regular season.
During the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, he recorded one assist in four games.
--The Winnipeg Jets agreed to terms with 2015 first-round pick Jack Roslovic on a three-year, two-way NHL entry-level contract worth an average annual value of $1,137,500.
Roslovic, 19, just completed his freshman season at Miami University (Ohio) where the center tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 36 games.
The Jets selected Roslovic with the 25th overall pick. The Columbus, Ohio, native finished the 2014-15 season with 79 points (27 goals, 52 assists) in 65 games and helped lead the U.S. to a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship.
--The New Jersey Devils re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Reece Scarlett to a one-year, two-way contract.
The pact is worth $600,000 at the NHL level for Scarlett, who has yet to play in the league since being selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft.
Scarlett collected four goals, 22 assists and 64 penalty minutes in 60 games last season with Albany of the American Hockey League.
--San Jose Sharks restricted free-agent forward Matt Nieto signed a one-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed by the team, but TVA's Renaud Lavoie reported the contract was worth $735,000.
Nieto collected eight goals, nine assists and 10 penalty minutes in 67 games with San Jose last season. The 23-year-old led the Sharks with a pair of short-handed tallies.