Rangers Fill a Need, Acquire Alexander Wennberg from Kraken

The New York Rangers badly needed help at the center position, and they got it Wednesday when they acquired Alexander Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken. The Rangers have acquired Kraken center Alex Wennberg for a 2024 2nd round pick and a 2025 4th round pick.

Full trade, per sources:

To #NYR: Alex Wennberg (50% retained)
To #SeaKraken: 2024 2nd Rd Pick, 2025 DAL 4th Rd Pick

Forgot to properly credit: @emilymkaplan first on the deal.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 6, 2024

The trade market on centers has already begun to move, with Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan heading to Vancouver and Winnipeg, respectively.

Other available centers like Adam Henrique and Nic Dowd are either a bit too expensive (Henrique) or not the same style of player (Dowd).

The Kraken are in the thick of the playoff race, but it's been a disappointing season overall in Seattle after making it to Game 7 of the second round a year ago. While the team is in it, they're not overly likely to make it in and a long shot to do anything meaningful if they do.

The Rangers in particular have a gaping hole at the third-line center spot, and a passing-specialist like Wennberg will do wonders for some of their talented young depth wingers like Kappo Kakko.

The veteran center has made a living in that sort of range as a high-end third line center and a serviceable second liner, and that sort of player can make a big difference in a playoff series if utilized properly.

Wennberg isn't of the caliber that Kadri was, but he's good enough that he could make a big difference for a Rangers team that could really just use a solid player there.