Bruins Acquire Rick Nash From New York Rangers
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins have made a major acquisition ahead of Monday's NHL trade deadline.
On Sunday morning, the team executed a trade with the New York Rangers that will send winger Rick Nash to Boston.
In exchange, the Bruins will send the following package to the Rangers:
--Ryan Spooner
--Matt Beleskey
--Prospect Ryan Lindgren
--A 2018 first-round pick
--A 2019 seventh-round pick
Nash, 33, is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. In 60 games this year, the 6-foot-4 forward has 18 goals and 10 assists. He hit a career high with 42 goals in the 2014-15 season, and he has 298-258-547 totals in 674 career games for Columbus and New York.
Nash has played in 77 playoff games in his career, posting 15-26-41 totals.
The Rangers will retain half of Nash's remaining salary, while the Bruins will retain half of Beleskey's remaining salary.
Nash is expected to be eligible to play for the Bruins in Sunday night's game in Buffalo.
Beleskey initially signed a five-year, $19 million contract with the Bruins as a free agent prior to the 2015-16 season. After a decent first season in Boston, he recorded just three goals and five assists in 49 games last year. This season, he recorded zero points in 14 NHL games. He's registered 4-2-6 totals in 21 AHL games for Providence.
Spooner, 26, was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft, the same draft that yielded Tyler Seguin to the Bruins. In 197 NHL games over the past three seasons, Spooner has registered 113 points (33-80-113), including 10 power-play goals and 10 game-winning goals.
Lindgren, 20, was drafted in the second round by the Bruins in 2016. The 6-foot, 198-pound D-man has seven points (2-5-7) in 33 games for the University of Minnesota this season, to go with a minus-2 rating.
The Bruins currently rank third in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Toronto for second place and five points behind Tampa Bay for first place. The Rangers, eight points out of a playoff spot, sent a letter to fans this month stating the team planned to sell at the deadline and rebuild for the future.
The first-round pick figures to be the most significant element to that endeavor, as Spooner is set to be a free agent at year's end and Beleskey has spent most of this season in the minors.
