It didn’t make big headlines, but the trade of Peter Holland to the Chicago Blackhawks was another smart move by New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton.
Monday, the New York Rangers traded 28-year-old Peter Holland to Chicago for 22-year-old defense prospect Darren Raddysh. This was a pseudo-deadline deal as Holland is a UFA after this season. Gorton was able to get some defensive depth for a player with no future with the Rangers. The Blackhawks wanted Holland as an inexpensive insurance policy for their playoff run.
Peter Holland has had a disappointing NHL career. He was a first round draft pick (15th overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in 2009. He is now headed to his fifth team in eight years. He was acquired by the Blueshirts in a November 2017 deal with the Montreal Canadiens with the Rangers sending Adam Cracknell to the Habs. Holland got into 23 games for the Rangers and totaled one goal and three assists.
Holland spent the entire season in Hartford where he was the team’s leading scorer with 20 goals and 49 points in 52 games. As a point-a-game player in the AHL, his future as a non-Ranger was sealed with the team recalling players like Tim Gettinger, Steven Fogarty, Boo Nieves, Vinni Lettieri and Matt Beleskey without summoning Holland. The final blow was when the Blueshirts called up Brandon Crawley instead of Holland.
Who is Darren Raddysh?
Darren Raddysh is a righthanded shooting defenseman. He had been named the top defenseman in the OHL in 2016-17 while with the Erie Otters as an overage player. He was undrafted and signed a minor league contract with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL in 2017. The Blackhawks rewarded him for a solid minor league season with a two year contract last May.
He is the older brother of Tampa Bay prospect Taylor Raddysh, a right wing second round draft pick. Darren was the top defenseman in scoring for Rockford at the time of the trade. He joins an already crowded list of Ranger defense prospects in Hartford including Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek, Rob O’Gara, John Gilmour, Chris Bigras, Brandon Crawley and Sean Day.
Why the deal?
The departure of Holland will allow for the younger prospects to get more ice time. The Rangers recently promoted Ty Ronning from Maine where he had 19 points in 22 games.
If you look at these deals within the perspective of the looming trade deadline, it’s easy to read a lot into any moves. I would have to guess that there may be some openings on the blue line in New York soon, so the surfeit of defensemen in Hartford may be lessened.
Hartford is mired in last place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a record of 21-25-8. They have allowed the third most goals in the AHL this season, so the addition of a solid defensive prospect cannot be seen as a bad thing. Keeping their leading scorer and losing him to free agency for nothing would have been a waste.