Although the New York Rangers were relatively quiet on NHL Trade Deadline day, they made most of their moves ahead of time. JT Miller was added from the Vancouver Canucks earlier in 2024-25, Carson Soucy was also acquired from British Columbia on Thursday, and Ryan Lindgren and Reilly Smith were shipped to the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively.
The Blueshirts also made a couple other minor moves, like trading Erik Brannstrom to the Buffalo Sabres. But general manager Chris Drury made a more under-the-radar move on Friday, re-signing defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to a two-year contract, the team announced.
Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
The 26-year-old has chipped in two goals and nine points over 30 games with the Rangers since being added from the Anaheim Ducks in the beginning of December.
Since making his New York debut on December 17, Vaakanainen ranks tied for third among team defensemen in assists, fourth in points, and tied for fourth in plus/minus, per NHL.com.
The Joensuu, Finland native has had to step up in the absence of Adam Fox, and has done so admirably while mainly playing on the second pairing with Braden Schneider.
Over 171 career NHL games split between the Rangers, Ducks and Boston Bruins, Vaakanainen has managed three goals and 34 points. He has also represented his country in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and played in three consecutive World Junior Hockey Championships with Team Finland.
A former first-round pick by the Bruins (18th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, Vaakanainen will now be a fixture on New York's blue line over the next two years at least.
Rangers starting to turn their season around at perfect time
After an abysmal stretch in the middle of the 2024-25 campaign, the Rangers have been surging as of late. With seven wins in their last 11 games, New York has returned to relevance in the Eastern Conference.
As of Friday, Peter Laviolette's group is 31-26-5 and just a single point back of the final wildcard berth in the conference. With the deadline now in the rearview mirror, the stretch run has officially begun.
The Blueshirts are back in action against the Ottawa Senators in Canada's capital on Saturday afternoon — one of the teams they are chasing for a playoff spot.
