Potential trade between the Habs and Rangers: Hughes has the opportunity to acquire defenseman Nils Lundkvist
According to reports from the reputable Larry Brooks, former 28th overall pick Nils Lundkvist has informed the team that he will not report to training camp later this month and would like a fresh start with a new NHL team.
The Post has learned that general manager Chris Drury was working with Lundkvist's agent, Claude Lemieux, to make a trade to an organization in which the Swede would have a better opportunity to compete for a top-four spot and play a quarterback role on the Power Play."
The 2018 first-round pick (28th overall) scored just one goal and four points in 25 games with the Rangers last season, but racked up three goals and 15 points in 34 games with the AHL's school club, the Hartford Wolf Pack. He is stuck behind more established defensemen like Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, K'Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Ryan Lindgren and has not been able to earn the trust of head coach Gerard Gallant.
That's all it took for the rumour mill to start working again. We remember that the young defenseman was in the speculations last February when the CH tried to trade Ben Chiarot. Jeff Gorton and Nick Bobrov, who have all worked for the Rangers, are not helping the rumors.
According to reports, Chris Drury is looking for a center who can play in the top nine forwards on his roster. This is exactly what the CH has to give, as Christian Dvorak seems to be too much for the Canadian team. At $4.45 million for three more seasons, the American could very well be the bargaining chip in this deal.
It should be noted that the Rangers currently have about $1M under the salary cap. Another player should go to the CH to free up some space for the Blueshirts.
A file to follow!
| POLL | ||
Would you like Kent Hughes to try to acquire young Nils Lundkvist? | ||
| Yes | 430 | 78.8 % |
| No | 116 | 21.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
