On Friday, the New York Rangers announced the acquisition of forward Anton Blidh from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for center Gustav Rydahl.
The 27-year-old Blidh has played 14 games this season, with the Avalanche registering zero points with a minus-2 rating. The Avalanche signed Blidh to a one-year deal in August of 2022. Originally selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round of the 2013 Draft (180 overall), the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Swede has amassed 12 points in 84 NHL regular season games with 41 penalty minutes and a minus-13 rating. This season with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, Blidh has six goals and six assists in 36 games. The left-shot left wing will join the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The undrafted 28-year-old Rydahl was signed as a free agent by the Rangers out of Sweden this past summer. The left-shot center collected 15 points in 40 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward has not played in an NHL game.
The Rangers are third in the Metropolitan Division with 79 points, seven points behind first-place Carolina. New York has added forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane to improve the forward group for the postseason.
The Avalanche added center Lars Eller before the trade deadline as their only key move for a postseason push. The defending champions expect to get star defenseman Cale Makar back and forward Gabriel Landeskog for the stretch run.
