The road to rebuilding kept marching forward, as the Rangers dealt defenseman Adam McQuaid to the Blue Jackets just about one hour before Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline, getting fourth- and seventh-round picks in return.
McQuaid, 32, was in the final year of a deal that carried an annual salary-cap hit of $2.75 million. The Rangers had obtained him in a trade on Sept. 11, sending Steven Kampfer, a fourth-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick to the Bruins, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
McQuaid played 36 games for the Rangers, putting up two goals and five points to go along with 33 penalty minutes. The righty-shot plays with a physical edge, and now joins John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets with a chance to make a deep postseason run.
Earlier in the day, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton dealt another to-be unrestricted free agent, Kevin Hayes, to the Jets. On Sunday, Gorton traded Mats Zuccarello to the Stars.