The New York Rangers continued their rebuild on Monday by dealing another one of their veteran players. Rangers announced that they have sent forward Vladislav Namestnikov to Ottawa Senators in a trade that saw them getting defenseman Nick Ebert and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft in exchange.
Namestnikov joined Rangers in February 2018 and has since played 99 games with the organization, scoring 13 goals and dishing 22 assists in the process.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton provided some insight into the team’s decision to deal Namestnikov. According to Gorton, Rangers wanted to create room for some of their younger players to get more playing time while also taking in consideration salary cap relief. Namestnikov was set to earn $4 million in salary this season.
“I think it’s a combo of everything,” – said Gorton. “We feel like we’re deep enough group at forward that we can replace Vlad, and there are going to be some opportunities. And at the same time, the cap always factors into what we’re doing.”
Vladislav Namestnikov was Tampa Bay Lightning’s first-round pick in 2011. Following his NHL debut in 2013, Namestnikov played a total of 362 games in which he contributed with 66 goals and 92 assists.
Ebert, on the other side, was Los Angeles Kings’ seventh-round pick in 2012. He is still to make his NHL debut, but has played more than 150 games in AHL in which he scored 19 goals and provided 32 assists.
