The New York Rangers begin their offseason adventure on Friday morning as they announce the signing of restricted free agent Brett Howden, which is considered as a strategic move that could improve their options ahead of the Seattle Kraken expansion draft.
There is only a week left for each NHL team to submit their final protection list for the expansion draft for the deadline which is set for July 21. The New York team brought in Howdenin a one-way contract reported being worth $885,000, according to The Post and best online casino usa.
This addition will offer the franchise another option to fulfil the expansion requirement of exposing two forward that are currently in a contract in 2021/22. Before signing Howden on Friday, the Rangers only had Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney to look at and they were expected to protect Mika Zibanejad, ArtemiPanarin, Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil, Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich.
But now, Howden, who plays as a forward is “even more susceptible to being exposed,” and will be available for a cheap price that may potentially be enticing to the Kraken.
Leaving the 23-year-old forward exposed will give the Rangers a chance to protect Blackwell, who was able to force his way into the top six this season as he registered 12 goals and 10 assists in 47 games for the team.
Blackwell is known as a grinder that wins puck battles and has no problem doing the dirty work for the team. The 28-year-old centre has many impressive qualities the Rangers are looking for to increase the strength of their lineup to become a playoff challenger.
Howden, who was a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, has been able to make 178 appearances in his NHL career with New York Rangers in the last three campaigns.
Howden, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 193 lb played 42 games for the Rangers this season and was able to register seven points (one goal and six assists) while averaging 12:34 time on ice per game and he was seen mostly on the fourth line, according to real money casinos.
Howden moved into the Rangers roster in a 2018 trade deal that sent forward J.T. Miller and defenseman Ryan McDonagh straight to Tampa Bay Lightning. Since his arrival from Lightning, he has been able to contribute 16 goals and 33 assists for the Rangers. And although his point-per-game continues to see a drop, former Rangers coach David Quinn continued to play him in games for the team while referencing his defensive play and trustworthiness.