The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has now passed and the New York Rangers were one of the more active teams, making four total trades, but only three of them will have an impact on the NHL roster. While the Rangers were one of the final teams in on Jake Guentzel, the Pittsburgh Penguins ultimately decided to trade him to their division rival, the Carolina Hurricanes. They were not able to add a star-level player at the deadline, but they were able to bring in some depth pieces that will help the team moving forward, as the push to the playoffs will only intensify from here. In this piece, we are going to go over each trade, why it was made and also where the new players will fit on the roster going forward.
Alex Wennberg From the Seattle Kraken
The first move the Rangers made was two days before the deadline when they acquired Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken. In exchange, they sent over a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Unlike the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, they did not have to give up a first-round pick to get the center that they wanted. Wennberg is more of a defensive-minded, pass-first player, which is reflected in his numbers so far this season. He has scored nine goals and 25 points in 60 games played with the Seattle Kraken. He was playing as the second-line center, but was more focused on the defensive side of the puck. His role will be very similar in New York.
He was brought in to be the Rangers’ new third-line center as the team lost Filip Chytil for the rest of the season due to injury. He is likely going to get time on the second power-play unit and as one of the team’s six penalty-killing forwards. His linemates to start will likely be Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, which on paper, seems like a very good third line that is defensively responsible, but can also provide some offense when they need to. So while he is still going to be relied upon in a defensive role, Wennberg will be able to showcase more of his offensive talent in New York and is a good upgrade at third-line center over the likes of Johnny Brodzinski and Barclay Goodrow.
Chad Ruhwedel From the Pittsburgh Penguins
In their first move on the actual trade deadline day, the Rangers added some depth on the blue line. They acquired Chad Ruhwedel from the Penguins in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick. He has spent the last eight seasons in Pittsburgh and was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup during the 2016-17 season. He is a 33-year-old, shutdown, right-handed defensive defenseman and has played 47 games so far this season, scoring one goal and four total points. He is not going to produce much offense and is more known for his defensive game which will be used to shut down other teams’ talented players.
When the trade occurred, it seemed that he was just going to be another extra defenseman for the team going forward along with Zac Jones. Now, it looks like he is going to get the chance to play immediately as it was announced by general manager Chris Drury that Rangers’ captain, Jacob Trouba, is going to miss the next two to three weeks with a lower-body injury. So while the Rangers already had Jones who could step in, they wanted to add another player who was right-handed and who played a better defensive game than Jones did. Ruhwedel will likely be on the third pair with Erik Gustafsson, while Braden Schneider moves up to the second pair to play with K’Andre Miller.
Jack Roslovic From the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Rangers’ biggest need they needed to address was the hole at first line right wing. As mentioned earlier, they were in on Guentzel until the very end, but they were not able to land him. They also didn’t want to pay the massive price that Anaheim Ducks general manager, Pat Verbeek, wanted in exchange for Frank Vatrano. So this left them with a very limited amount of options as players kept getting traded throughout the day. In the end, the Rangers settled for getting Jack Roslovic from the Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick that can upgrade to a third in 2026 if they make it to the Stanley Cup Final this season and he plays in 50 percent of the playoff games.
Roslovic is a speedy, right-handed shooter, who will likely get a shot to play on the first-line right wing with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. He has had a decent season so far, scoring six goals and 23 points in 40 games played this season. He did miss time earlier this season with injury, but in his last 12 games, he has 13 points. The Rangers got him while he is on this hot streak and they are hoping he can fit in well on the top line, but if he can’t, he can be used up and down the lineup and can play either center or wing if needed. Overall, it was a low-risk deal for a high-upside player.
While the Rangers didn’t get any big names at the deadline this year, they were able to add some players that fill the holes they had in their lineup and will provide them some much-needed depth going forward. So while many Rangers fans won’t like that they didn’t land a big name, let’s see how the team does over the next few weeks and see how these new players do before we begin judging the moves they made.
