As per multiple reports on Tuesday, 2018 No. 9 overall pick Vitali Kravtsov is unhappy with the New York Rangers after failing to make the club’s opening night NHL lineup. He’s voiced his concerns with the team and has been told that he is welcome to seek out a trade and explore options with another franchise.
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This will come as unexpected news for many Rangers fans, but perhaps not entirely shocking news considering the team chose to keep him off the team in order to avoid losing defenseman Libor Hájek on waivers. While the Rangers are reportedly looking to trade Hájek, they’ve upset Kravtsov in the meantime and it will be intriguing to see how this situation unfolds.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that Kravtsov has refused his assignment to the AHL and it could be that if he doesn’t find another NHL team to land with, he could go back to Russia and the Rangers would retain his rights. New agent Dan Milstein now has permission to speak with other teams about a fresh start and we’ll see where this unfolds.
Rangers and Blackhawks to Make a Deal?
With Dylan Strome rumors out there, some are wondering if there could be a deal between the Rangers and the Blackhawks to get the Strome brothers together? If Dylan is moved to New York to play with his brother Ryan, perhaps Kravtsov gets a chance with the Blackhawks that he isn’t getting with the Rangers.
Perhaps another team has an open slot on their roster for a player with some upside and Milstein won’t have much trouble finding a trade partner. The key will be what the ask is from the Rangers’ side of things and whether or not a team will pay anything but bargain-basement prices for a player that clearly doesn’t want to be with the team he’s currently working for.
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