The Rangers continue to make moves at the NHL trade deadline.
On Monday, the team started the day by trading Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets. They have now followed that up by sending Adam McQuaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets. These transactions have been made with an eye toward the future, as the Rangers attempt to rebuild their roster around young talent.
In return for McQuaid, New York picked up Julius Bergman and fourth and seventh-round draft picks.
McQuaid was traded to the Rangers in September after nine years with the Boston Bruins. The 32-year-old defenseman had managed two goals and three assists in 36 games played so far this season. He was averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per game.
Bergman is a 23-year-old Swedish defenseman who has yet to make the leap from the AHL to the NHL. San Jose drafted him 46th overall in the 2014 draft.
McQuaid's departure sends another of the team's older players to a contender. It also helps the Rangers position themselves better to add promising players through the draft.
The return for Hayes does the same. In that deal, the Rangers added winger Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 fourth-round selection if the Jets win the Stanley Cup.
Hayes, 26, skated in 361 games for the Rangers over the past five seasons, registering 87 goals and 216 points. In 51 games this season, he has 14 goals and 42 points.
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Both Hayes and McQuaid are sit to hit free agency this summer.
Lemieux is the 22-year-old son of former Devils forward Claude Lemieux. Brendan Lemieux has nine goals and two assists in 44 games this season, his first extensive action after skating in nine contests in 2017-18.
The NHL's trade deadline was at 3 p.m. Monday, but trades may still filter through after the deadline. The Rangers have now made three trades in three days. On Saturday, they sent forward Mats Zuccarello to the Dallas Stars for two conditional draft picks. Zuccarello suffered what is believed to be a broken arm in his first game with Dallas and is expected to miss at least a month.
The Rangers, who are second to last in the Metropolitan Division, now own five picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft.