After bolstered their defense by acquiring Justin Braun from Philly, the Rangers bolstered their forward group ahead of Monday's 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, acquiring center Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2023 fourth-round pick and Andrew Copp from the Winnipeg Jets for forward Morgan Barron, a fifth-round pick in 2023, and two conditional second-round picks.
Per the Rangers' release, the first conditional pick, the Rangers' own in 2022, becomes a first-rounder if the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Final and Copp plays in at least 50 percent of New York's playoff games; the second conditional pick is simpler, as it will be either the Rangers' in 2023 or the 2022 second-rounder they acquired from St. Louis in the Pavel Buchnevich deal last summer.
The team also dealt defenseman Anthony Bitetto to San Jose for AHL winger Nick Merkley.
Motte, 27, is a defensive-minded forward likely to take a bottom six role. He has averaged 14:17 of ice time in 49 games this season, tallying seven goals, eight assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus-3 plus/minus rating.
The former Blackhawk, Blue Jacket, and Canuck is a pending unrestricted free agent, with a cap hit of $1.225 million this year.
Copp, 27, is also a pending UFA on a $3.64 million deal. The versatile forward, also likely to fill a bottom six role, is more offensive-minded, and has averaged 19:48 of ice time in 56 games this year while tallying 13 goals and 22 assists. He has spent his entire career to this point in the Jets' organization, with 184 points in 467 games.
Bitetto, 31, signed a one-year deal last offseason and has played 14 games with the Blueshirts this year, tallying one goal, three assists, and 20 penalty minutes, with a minus-8 rating.
Merkley, 24, played nine games for the Sharks this year, notching one goal and two assists with a minus-2 rating. He had spent the previous two seasons in New Jersey, coming over from Arizona in the Taylor Hall deal in 2019, and had 12 points in 31 games.
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