Rangers could move defenceman Keith Yandle by deadline

Damien Cox and Elliotte Friedman discuss all the new and rumors from around the NHL, including who the Tampa Lightning would want in return for Jonathan Drouin.

Teams seeking to bolster their blue-line with a puck-moving defenceman ahead of the trade deadline could look to the New York Rangers for help.

In this week’s “Headlines” segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Damien Cox noted that defenceman Keith Yandle is unlikely to negotiate a contract extension with the Rangers ahead of the Feb. 29 deadline. Yandle is set to become a free agent on July 1.

Yandle could be one of the most highly sought after players as the trade season heats up. He leads Rangers defencemen in scoring with two goals and 22 points in 41 games and has eclipsed 40 points in every 82-game season since the 2009-10 campaign.

The Rangers acquired Yandle in a 2015 deadline deal with the Arizona Coyotes. The Boston native arrived in New York at a considerable cost, with Anthony Duclair serving as the centrepiece to the deal for the Coyotes along with draft picks.

The Rangers are paying half of Yandle’s $5.25-million salary cap hit this season.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.