RALEIGH — The Rangers are working on a blockbuster multi-team deal that would bring power winger Keith Tkachuk to Broadway, two independent sources have told The Post.
As currently constructed, the trade would commence with the Rangers obtaining unsigned Group II center Keith Primeau from the Hurricanes in exchange for a package featuring Petr Nedved. The Blueshirts would then use Primeau as the main ingredient to pry Tkachuk from the Coyotes, probably having to yield a future first-round pick, if not additionally Manny Malhotra, in order to consummate the trade.
Tkachuk, of course, was all but traded from Phoenix to Carolina for Primeau on Dec. 28. That was before Carolina owner Peter Karmanos, citing the Phoenix winger’s $8.3 million 2000-2001 salary — $4.3M this year — vetoed the trade that had been agreed on by Hurricane GM Jim Rutherford and Coyote GM Bobby Smith.
An individual close to Tkachuk last night told The Post that the Coyotes’ 27-year-old captain, “was and continues to be extremely upset by the whole thing.
“They can’t keep him now even if they want to.”
Another source said that he had been told on good authority that Rutherford, whose team’s 4-1 loss here last night to the Rangers was its fifth straight defeat and is thus sliding out of the Eastern Conference playoff race, has been applying pressure on Karmanos to authorize a trade of Primeau, whose contractual stalemate has turned bitter, if not personal.
The Post was told that a number of general managers have within the last 24 hours contacted Primeau’s agent, Don Reynolds, but that Neil Smith had not been among them. The Coyotes and Reynolds had reached an agreement on a four-year, $16.9M contract last month prior to the negated trade.
Smith last month had offered Nedved straight up for Primeau. The Hurricanes rejected that proposal, demanding that Malhotra be added to the deal. Smith then withdrew, at least temporarily, from talks.
Now, however, the dynamics have changed. The Coyotes need to trade Tkachuk, whom relatively few teams in the league can afford. With three years coming up before he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency, Tkachuk, who has scored 19 goals with 17 assists thus far in 39 games, is guaranteed at least $24.9 million in the next three seasons.
If the deal does indeed go through, the Rangers would be adding one of the league’s premier power forwards. They would be adding noteworthy grit and muscle, necessary ingredients to seriously contend in the East. They would, however, at the same time be sacrificing their first-line center in Nedved, whose recent strong play between Czechmates Radek Dvorak and Jan Hlavac has been a major reason for the Rangers’ revival.
Without Nedved, the Rangers would probably move Theo Fleury from wing to the middle. The Blueshirts would appear to be, uh, short at center.
Unless, of course, Ottawa is ready and willing to deal Alexei Yashin.