The Rangers have acquired their coveted center in a trade with the Kraken

The Broadway Blueshirts have acquired their top center. The New York Rangers just picked up Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken to beef up their bottom six lineup. It's to cover for center Filip Chytil, who's out for the season due to a concussion.

New York Rangers Acquire Alex Wennberg to Bolster Bottom Six

Wennberg might not have Chytil's scoring punch, but he has solid defensive skills and penalty killing abilities. He's been reliable with a 51.55% expected goals for percentage. If he joins the Rangers, he might see fewer minutes than he did in Seattle, but he'd boost their third-line center position.



With Jonny Brodzinski having served as a good depth piece throughout the season , Wennberg could push him down to the fourth line, adding versatility and fill the gap in penalty killing left by the waived Nick Bonino.



That said, Wennberg's an unrestricted free agent on a $4.5 million deal.


The cap hit isn't an issue considering the Rangers only need to pay half ($2.25 million) of Wenberg's salary. It gives them room to potentially add another forward if Chris Drury desires.

Meanwhile, Ron Francis of Seattle did well, as he gets draft picks for a center on an expiring contract.