Lias Andersson’s tumultuous career with the New York Rangers has officially come to an end.
The Rangers shipped Andersson, the organization’s seventh-overall pick in 2017, to the Los Angeles Kings during the second round of Tuesday’s NHL draft in exchange for the No. 60 pick. General manager Jeff Gorton then announced that the Rangers would be drafting William Cuylle.
“When you take a guy that high, you hope he has an impact sooner than later,” general manager Jeff Gorton said of what went wrong with Andersson on a Zoom call Wednesday. “At this point of his career, it’s hard to say. Maybe we brought him over too soon. I don’t know. A lot of things just didn’t go the way we wanted to. He’s still a young guy. I think he needed a fresh start.”
Andersson played in 66 games for the Rangers, falling short of first-round expectations with just three goals and six assists. He struggled to secure a spot in the lineup and fluctuated between the NHL and the AHL for most of his time in New York.
Often buried on the third line, Andersson never quite found his groove on Broadway’s big stage. In 2019-20, he recorded just one assist in 17 games with the Rangers. After his demotion to Hartford last season, the relationship went sour between the Rangers and Andersson, who abruptly left the Wolf Pack to return to Sweden and demanded a trade in the process.
The Rangers suspended Andersson for leaving before loaning him to HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2020-21 season.
“I think it’s helped him to go back and play, from speaking to him and his agents, he was more comfortable there, he just felt more and more confident playing over there each day,” Gorton said. “I think teams were able to see him and for sure, there’s been some teams that have called me and checked in on him from time to time. At the end of the day, we just made a decision organizationally that it was time to let him go somewhere else and try and for us to try and get an asset and go that way.
“The player we got with that trade, we liked a lot.”
Heading into summer training camp prior to the playoffs, the Rangers seemingly attempted to salvage the relationship by extending an invitation to Andersson to rejoin the team, but the 21-year-old declined.
Andersson had confided in SVT Sports, a Swedish media outlet, that it was an “untenable situation” for him in New York. He also told Sweden’s Gothenburg Post in April that he did not feel well mentally and that he was falling into bad habits, like staying up late into the night to play video games with his friends in Sweden. Andersson also said he struggled with poor self-confidence.
The trade bodes well for both parties. The Rangers can finally move on from the frustration of not getting anything out of the seventh-overall pick, which the organization acquired from the Arizona Coyotes along with defenseman Tony DeAngelo in exchange for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta. And Andersson has a fresh opportunity to establish himself in the NHL with a new team.
As for Cuylle, the 6-foot-3 left winger fits in with the Rangers’ trend of taking big-bodied, tough-to-match-up players during this year’s draft. On a Zoom call following his selection, Cuylle said he models his game after Capitals bruiser Tom Wilson.
The 204-pound Toronto native recorded 22 goals and 20 assists in 62 OHL games with the Windsor Spitfires last season. He’s had back-to-back 40-plus point seasons with the Spitfires, including three points (two goals, one assists) in four playoff games in 2018-19.
“I’m a power forward,” the 18-year-old Cuylle said on a Zoom call. “I play a pretty rough and tough game, and I like to score goals, as well.”
In the remainder of the draft, the Rangers took three centers. After taking Oliver Tarnstrom at No. 92, the Rangers then acquired the No. 127 pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Nos. 196 and 206 to draft Evan Vierling.
The team also selected center Matt Rempe at No. 165. Rempe stands at 6-8 and 235 pounds, which would make him the tallest forward in the NHL if he makes it.
The Rangers drafted two goalies, picking up Dylan Garand at No. 103 and 6-8 Hugo Ollas at No. 197 to add further depth at the position after buying out franchise netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Gorton also added left winger Brett Berard, who is no relation to ex-Ranger and Islander Bryan Berard, with the No. 134 pick. Berard is committed to Providence College for the 2020-21 season.
Recapping the Rangers’ final selections in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Will Cuylle
Pick No. 60
Acquired from Kings for Lias Andersson
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Position: Left wing
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 203 lbs
From: Toronto, Ontario
Skinny: Known as a gifted one-touch scorer, Cuylle has tremendous upper-body strength and a large frame that he puts to good use by generating quick-release wrist shots. He recorded 22 goals and 20 assists in 62 games with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season, while chipping in two goals and an assist in four playoff games to be named to the OHL’s Second All-Rookie Team.
Oliver Tarnstrom
Pick No. 92
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 163 lbs
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Skinny: Capable of making plays with the puck on his stick, Tarnstrom uses his skating ability to create lanes for his teammates and can accurately set them up. Particularly swift on puck transitions and intercepting passes in the neutral zone and defensive zone.
Dylan Garand
Pick No. 103
No. 103 pick
Age: 18
Catches: Left
Position: Goalie
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 172 lbs
From: Victoria, British Columbia
Skinny: Moving laterally with speed and precision, Garand recovers well when he misreads a shot or the play breaks down in front of him. He had one of the highest workloads in the WHL this past season with 42 starts.
Evan Vierling
Pick No. 127
Acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for No. 196 and No. 206
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 168 lbs
From: Aurora, Ontario
Skinny: Considered to be a defensively reliable, two-way player who is effective in the offensive zone. Has an excellent first step and can accelerate well. At his best while working the puck down low in the cycle game.
Brett Berard
Pick No. 134
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Position: Left wing
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 163 lbs
From: East Greenwich, R.I.
Skinny: Packs a lot of offensive punch into a smaller frame that can make quick decisions, considered a dual-threat attacker. Committed to Providence College in 2020-21.
Matt Rempe
No. 165 pick
Age: 18
Shoots: Right
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 235 lbs
From: Calgary, Alberta
Skinny: If he makes it, Rempe would become the tallest forward in the NHL. A player that towers over most players on the ice but has strong skating abilities and a decent set of skills.
Hugo Ollas
Pick No. 197
Age: 18
Catches: Left
Position: Goalie
Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 238 lbs
From: Linkoping, Sweden
Skinny: To go along with such a large stature, Ollas has an easy time eliminating space and cutting off shooting lanes. He has a modern well-school style to his game.
— Scouting information from Elite Prospects and Last Word on Sports