The New York Rangers made a minor trade on deadline day. They traded defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Buffalo Sabres for Nicolas Aube-Kubel. It's a minor league trade, but the Rangers parted with some of their defensive depth to add another forward. It's one of the more understandable trades for the Rangers to explain as they continue to bolster the Hartford Wolf Pack for the AHL playoffs in the coming months.
With both players on NHL deals, this needed to be done now instead of the AHL trade deadline in a few days. Nicolas Aube-Kubel is a good bottom-six option if the Rangers have an injury crisis, and they got him for a depth defenseman who was a throw-in when the Rangers acquired J.T. Miller. Doing this late suggests the two teams were focused on other deals, potentially even on the NHL roster of these two teams, as we know the Rangers were trying to land J.J. Peterka.
As for Aube-Kubel, he is a Stanley Cup Champion as he was on the Avalanche roster that defeated Tampa in 2022. You may remember him as the player who dented the cup on the ice when the Avalanche were on the ice in Tampa. He's bounced around since then, spending time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and Buffalo Sabres since his time with Colorado. He spent the beginning of his career in Philadelphia.
Brannstrom is a left-shot defenseman that the Rangers landed from the Canucks when they picked up Miller. He reported to the AHL, and he's been part of the Wolf Pack since, but he was unlikely to get a shot with the Rangers since the team landed Carson Soucy from Vancouver. This gets both players into the NHL for the remainder of the season to play for a contract and an NHL spot next year.