Brace Hemmelgarn – USA TODAY Sports
Earlier today, the New York Rangers finalized a deal with the Minnesota Wild. In the trade, the Rangers acquired young defenseman Justin Falk and sent young minor-league forward Benn Ferriero and a 2014 sixth-round pick to the Wild.
What does this trade implicate? It just may be that the Rangers are going to draft offensive forwards in today’s draft, which starts at 3 p.m. EST on the NBC Sports Network and TSN.
Falk is a defensive-minded defenseman, which is always a good attribute for a player who plays a defensive position. He has been up and down from the NHL and AHL levels for the Wild in four seasons. Falk has played a total of 108 games and has one goal and 14 assists. I have heard that he is more of a depth player and is really a good fit on anyone’s third defensive pair but does have some upside. He is not projected to be an amazing shut down defenseman but, instead, be an overall solid d-man for years to come in the NHL.
This was definitely a good move by the Rangers; and a risk well worth taking. Ferriero only played just a few games with the Rangers and was not really noticeable at all. The other piece the Rangers gave away in the deal was a sixth-round draft pick, and odds are that a player picked that late in the draft may not even end up on the team that drafted him. Overall, I agree with this trade, and while it may not make much of a difference, it is still a low-risk and potentially high-reward move.
