The trade
New York Rangers get: Center Alex Wennberg (Kraken retain 50 of salary).
Seattle Kraken get: Second-round pick in 2024, conditional fourth-round pick in 2025.
Eric Duhatschek
: Not many trades happened early at this year’s NHL trade deadline, but two that did — the Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan dels — reframed the marketplace for available centers. Then on Wednesday, both Adam Henrique and Casey Mittelstadt found new homes, which left other teams looking for reinforcements down the middle scrambling for alternatives.
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In fairness to the Rangers, they appeared already underway on a deal with Seattle for Alex Wennberg before Wednesday’s trades went down and heightened the urgency.
Filip Chytil’s season-ending injury left a Rangers team that’ll likely be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference desperately short of depth down the middle, once you get past Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Wennberg became available after the Kraken dropped off the pace in the Western Conference playoff race. They held him out of back-to-back games against Calgary and Winnipeg for “trade-deadline” purposes. Nice transparency there.
So, what did the Rangers get in Wennberg? A 29-year-old who was the 14th pick in the 2013 draft.
Even back in his days playing in Sweden, Wennberg was never a prolific scorer, far more playmaker than scorer. But he played a top-nine role for the Kraken and instructively led all Seattle forwards in average minutes played this season (18:49).
Seattle originally signed Wennberg as a free agent after he played one season for the Panthers. He ended up there partly because the new GM at the time, Bill Zito, was a former Blue Jackets executive and got him at a bargain-basement price after Columbus bought out the three remaining years of Wennberg’s contract in October 2020. Wennberg’s current contract is worth $4.5 million and he’s a pending UFA this summer. Seattle retained 50 percent and in exchange got a second-rounder in 2024, and a fourth in 2025 that originally came New York’s way via Dallas. That’s a solid return for a player who cost them nothing and played a lot of effective if quiet minutes for them in two-plus seasons.
Overall, he’s a serviceable NHLer, a reliable minute muncher, and someone able to play in all situations. It’s not a sexy add because Wennberg falls into a lower-end-of-the-roster grey area. He’s not a genuine top-six forward on a good team, but he can be an effective and versatile third-liner — which is really what the Rangers needed at this point.
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The cost wasn’t exorbitant, though the scarcity of available centers probably drove it up a bit.
Wennberg had 25 points in 60 games for Seattle and was only 46.7 in the faceoff circle, which is right around his career average (he’s never been above 50 percent in the faceoff circle in his NHL career).
His recent resume conjures up terms such as useful, average, someone to provide depth. Coaches trust him — at least Dave Hakstol did in Seattle. With Wennberg, what you see is what you get. Considering what was left out there, it could have been a lot worse.
The Rangers originally inquired about Lindholm when Calgary first made him available but were essentially outbid by Vancouver. Purely speculating here, but if Lindholm truly is back on the block in Vancouver, as some say, it would have been interesting to see the Rangers try to assemble the necessary package to bid on Lindholm again. That’ll be a scenario worth monitoring.
Rangers grade: B–
Kraken grade: B+
Shayna Goldman: The Rangers entered trade season with two clear needs up front: A third-line center and a top-six right-winger. Wennberg is a very solid option to check off the former. Jonny Brodzinski has done a fine job stepping up in that role with Chytil shut down for the year, but upgrading that position (and shifting Brodzinski into a fourth-line capacity) is for the best on a team with championship aspirations.
Wennberg is someone who can be very effective if his deployment is right. Seattle has leaned on him pretty heavily over the last few years. He set career highs in ice time over the last two seasons, playing upwards of 18:40 a game, on average, with the Kraken. That likely won’t be the case in New York, and fewer minutes should have a positive impact on his results.
With the Rangers, Wennberg will likely be deployed strictly in a third-line capacity to help deepen the forward group. He is someone who can be counted on to take on top competition, which should help free up Zibanejad a bit more, and alleviate a fourth line that has been over-leveraged at times this year. Wennberg scores at the rate of a middle-six forward and shouldn’t be counted on for his shot volume. The Rangers can expect him to help move the puck out of their own zone, which is something a lot of their defenders have struggled with this season, and be a reliable playmaker for his linemates. Wennberg’s game isn’t flashy, but he does the little things right. He is overall a disruptive forward both at even strength and on the penalty kill, which checks off what the Rangers need in this role.
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Teams have been paying a premium for centers, so a second and a fourth check out for a player of his caliber — especially with 50 percent salary retention, which may help the Rangers address other lineup needs.
The Kraken are in a really interesting place and don’t need to sell right now. But moving Wennberg ensures a return on a pending unrestricted free agent, especially if management knew he was not going to extend there. Losing Wennberg should not take Seattle out of the playoff race, either — in fact, there is another high-ceiling center in their system who could jump up if needed, now that there is an opening down the middle.
Rangers grade: B
Kraken grade: B+
(Top photo: Steven Bisig / USA Today)