The New York Rangers have acquired forward Barclay Goodrow from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2022 7th round pick. Additionally, they acquired defenseman Nick DeSimone and a 2022 4th round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Brett Howden.
There is a lot to unpack here. First of all, the Rangers may be getting a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion. Maybe. Goodrow is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 28th. The Rangers are just paying a late-round pick for his rights. Reports have indicated that the Rangers wanted to get tougher to play against when they promoted Chris Drury to General Manager and this proves that. If they can sign Goodrow, they get a defensive bottom-six winger with grit. He had 111 hits and 52 penalty minutes this past season. The key here is signing him to a responsible deal. The cap-pressed Lightning were never going to retain Goodrow, so good on them for getting a pick back.
Goodrow, 28, scored six goals with 14 assists for 20 points in 55 games for the Lightning this past season. In his NHL career for the Lightning and San Jose Sharks, Goodrow has scored 32 goals with 61 assists for 93 points in 331 games.
Brett Howden was one of the players that had a good chance of being picked by the Kraken. A former Lightning prospect himself, Howden looks more like a first-round bust than a legitimate bottom-six player. He can play center and the wing but has really struggled in his NHL career. The Golden Knights may think that he could be something good. A fourth-rounder is not a lot, but still probably above Howden’s worth. He just signed a one-year, $885k deal with New York and will be an RFA after it ends.
Howden, 23, scored one goal with six assists for seven points in 42 games for New York this year. In his NHL career, all for the Rangers, Howden has scored 16 goals with 33 assists for 49 points in 178 games.
The Rangers are able to unload Howden here, and his spot could be filled in by Goodrow, assuming he is signed. The real return here is the fourth. Vegas, not eligible for the expansion draft, must be compliant on their reserve list. That means that they had to trade a contract if they were to add Howden. DeSimone is exactly that. He is an offensive AHL defenseman who the Rangers have no interest in signing before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in less than two weeks.
DeSimone, 26, had 11 assists in 22 games between two AHL teams in 2020-21.
CarterHud 