The New York Rangers are reportedly actively trying to trade defenseman Nils Lundkvist, who is reportedly frustrated with his lack of playing time with the team.
The daily “New York Post” learned Thursday that the 22-year-old Swede will not report to training camp in order to put pressure on the staff of the Blueshirts.
Lundkvist has been one of the most promising fullbacks on the team since being selected with the 28th round of the 2018 draft. Last season was his first in North America and he split it between the National League and American League.
With Rangers, he had four points in 25 games, but other young defenders like Zac Jones and especially Braden Schneider took away his time with the big club.
Also according to the “Post”, general manager Chris Drury would work with Lundkvist’s agent, Claude Lemieux, to find a formation that would agree to give him an opportunity to break into the top 4 on the blue line.
Endowed with a certain offensive talent, Lundkvist had a few opportunities on the second wave of the power play, but seemed to struggle on the small North American rinks. Its adaptation could take a season or two.
The Swede’s situation is not unlike those of other former Rangers European first-choices, including Lias Andersson and Vitali Kravtsov. Journalist Larry Brooks, however, believes that these situations are different, since the two other players mentioned were experiencing real disagreements with senior management.
Kravtsov is still in the Rangers entourage after a year on loan in the Kontinental Hockey League and could be in training camp this month, Brooks believes.