March 1, 2024 | 9:26am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
RANGERS STILL EYEING HENRIQUE, VATRANO
Frank Vatrano, forward
The New York Rangers are looking to add to their roster ahead of the trade deadline, which is now seven days away, and GM Chris Drury continues to explore his options for help up front.
Two players the Rangers have expressed continued interest in are forwards Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano of the Anaheim Ducks.
Henrique, 34, is in the final year of a five-year, $29.125 million contract, and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He also owns a 10-team no-trade list.
Vatrano, 29, has one more year left on his contract after this season and comes with an attractive $3.65 million cap hit. He does not own any no-trade protection.
Drury has slightly over $4.383 million in LTIR salary cap space to play with, as per CapFriendly, and with his club having won nine of its last 10 games, he would like to deepen his roster if the opportunities present themselves.
The Ducks made their first move of deadline season on Thursday evening, shipping out defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third-round draft pick in a three-way deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. Anaheim has multiple assets in play, including Henrique and Vatrano, as well as forwards Sam Carrick and Jakob Silfverberg.
It is unclear what the Rangers would be willing to give up for either, or both, Henrique and Vatrano, but any move involving Henrique would need to result in the Ducks retaining a chunk of his contract and cap hit.