New York Rangers News: Keith Yandle's Rights Traded To Florida Panthers
Keith Yandle's rights have been traded to the Florida Panthers ahead of this weekend's draft in Buffalo.
With the 2016 NHL Draft a little under four days away, the New York Rangers have made their first move of the offseason, and it is not one that bodes well for the future. According to James Mirtle, the Rangers have traded Keith Yandle's rights to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 6th-round draft pick along with another conditional pick, assuming Yandle signs in Florida.
Given what the return was for Alex Goligoski a couple of days ago, it's no surprise that the Rangers received similar compensation. Obviously the Rangers couldn't have handled this situation any worse than they did, and losing a puck moving defenseman like Yandle is a huge blow to this team moving forward. Not to mention, they had to part ways with Anthony Duclair to get Yandle, and he only lasted a season and a half.
At the same time though, at least the Rangers grabbed a draft pick for a player that they were going to lose for nothing at the end of the month. With Yandle all done on Broadway, it will be interesting to see if the Rangers make a corresponding move to replace him on the backend.
Rumors have been flying for the last couple of weeks, so we should have a pretty good idea of what the Rangers are planning within the next couple of days.
Thoughts?
UPDATE (6:07PM): Darren Dreger is reporting that the second conditional pick in the deal would be a 4th-round pick in 2017 if Keith Yandle signs in Florida.
