The "Letter 2.0" era has officially shifted from a statement to fans to action on the trade market. In a move that few saw coming, not the player but more so the destination, the New York Rangers are trading defenseman Carson Soucy to the cross-town rival New York Islanders according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN.
It's been a long time since Rangers and Islanders have conducted business
This deal is a rare one for the Rangers and Isles, and the last time the two made a trade was back in 2010 when the Blueshirts acquired Jyri Niemi for the bargain basement price of a sixth round draft pick.
While we are on the subject of "firsts", this deal marks the first transaction since President and General Manager Chris Drury told the fans that the organization would be "retooling" its roster in hopes of a more sustainable path to the Stanley Cup. Soucy joined the Blueshirts at last year's deadline to provide veteran stability on the blue line, and he was a prime trade candidate due to his expiring contract and the Rangers' free-fall in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Soucy ended up spending 62 games with the Rangers and he tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points. He logged 951 minutes at 5v5 and had a 52.31 GF%, a 46.82 CF%, and a 47.7 xGF% per Evolving-Hockey. The veteran defender will now join an Islanders squad that is trying to make the playoffs, something that wasn't expected to happen coming into this season.
As for the return, a third round draft pick is a good price for Soucy, as he is a veteran defender who hasn't had the best season for the Rangers. With Soucy no longer on the Rangers, this creates an initial opportunity for someone like Urho Vaakanainen.
Vaakanainen has appeared in 22 games this season for the Rangers and logged just under 300 minutes at 5v5. In that span he's posted a 47.94 GF%, a 50.74 CF%, and a 48.95 xGF%. It is possible that he's another defender who could join the trade block, but for the time being he's going to get a chance to play. He likely will start on the third pair alongside Scott Morrow, as it would make sense to bump up Matthew Robertson to play with Will Borgen for the forseeable future.