Last night the Rangers and the Senators made a trade that was shocking if only because of the timing. Just two games into the season, New York sent winger Vlad Namestnikov to Ottawa in exchange for a 2021 4th round pick and Nick Ebert. As per usual, I have some thoughts.
1. The trade came out of left field. Neither team needed to maneuver the cap, as the Rangers had $1 million in space and the Senators were above the floor. However the trade does have cap implications for the Rangers, who were due to have bonus overages next season if they didn’t clear the space.