Ryan Spooner most likely to be traded by Rangers
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The Rangers are likely to be trading Ryan Spooner’s rights prior to his arbitration hearing later this month. This comes off the heels of signing forward, Vlad Namestnikov to a 2 year deal worth $4M per season.
Spooner made 2.85M last season and is likely to be seeking a deal between 3.5 to 5M on his next contract. The 26 year old center/wing played very well when he came over in the Rick Nash deal notching 16 points in 20 games.
Namestnikov Over Spooner
Still it appears the Rangers viewed Namestnikov as the better player with more upside by signing him to a deal after UFA Frenzy opened. However, Namestnikov did struggle after being traded from Tampa and only notched 4 points.
Jeff Gorton acknowledged that as did Namestnikov who struggled mentally making the transition from a Cup contender to out of the playoffs in one move. Gorton already has Namestnikov pegged to start on the wing but could easily take over center responsibilities should either Lias Andersson or Filip Cytil struggle.
Trading Spooner
As the Erik Karlsson trade saga continues, Spooner could make an excellent piece to land back in Ottawa from Tampa, Dallas or Vegas. So Spooner could be a piece in any 3-way trade if the Rangers do indeed play third wheel for any of those teams.
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