The New York Rangers have acquired Seattle Kraken center Alex Wennberg. In a crazy day of trades flying left and right Chris Drury made the move to bring in the 29-year-old Swede. The Rangers dealt a 2024 2nd round pick and a 2025 4th round pick to acquire the center. The Kraken are also retaining 50% of his $4,500,000 contract. Wennberg, a pending UFA at the end of the year, will help solidify the Rangers center depth and take over as the 3rd line pivot.
Nick Olczyk Insights
I reached out to Seattle Kraken broadcaster Nick Olczyk for some of his insights on the type of player Alex Wennberg is and what Rangers fans should expect. This is what he shared:
- Reliable 2-way center that will not cheat the defensive side of the game to create offense.
- Solid in the face-off circle, added he won a lot of important draws on the power play.
- More of a pass first mindset, pairing him with guys who are shoot first is imperative.
- Great fit for the goal line position on the power play.
- Great penalty killer- makes smart reads, knows when and when not to pressure, and has offensive instincts to create offense while short-handed if given the opportunity.
Analytics
Thanks to Andy & Rono (@ARHockeyStats on X) who shared Alex Wennberg’s player analytics card with insights on his game.
Not Done Yet?
The Rangers still have $2.9 million in salary cap available. All indications are the Rangers are still on the hunt for a top line right wing. Could it be Jake Guentzel, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Toffoli, who knows? The next two days should be very interesting!
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