Rangers trade Grabner to Devils
The New Jersey Devils acquired forward Michael Grabner from the New York Rangers on Thursday in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick and defenseman Yegor Rykov, the Rangers announced.
The deal comes after Grabner and Rick Nash were both held out of the Rangers' lineup Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens as trade talks involving the two players intensified.
In Grabner, the Devils add a forward with 25 goals and 31 points in 59 games this season. He also comes with a team-friendly cap hit of just $1.65 million.
The Devils were a late arriving entry to the Grabner bidding. Some 10 teams showed interest and they were one of the last to reach out but made a late push and got him.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 23, 2018
In Rykov, the Rangers get a 20-year-old defenseman who was drafted in the fifth round in 2016 by the Devils. In 51 games with St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL, Rykov has two goals and 14 points.
The deal marks the first-ever trade between the Devils and Rangers and the first between the two franchises since the Rangers and Colorado Rockies completed a six-player deal in 1979, according to The Athletic's Seth Rorabaugh.