New York Rangers center Vladislav Namestnikov found out he was traded in a modern technology kind of way, on the web through his iPhone.
Vladislav Namestnikov was FaceTiming with his teammate Slater Koekkoek when he found out he was traded to the New York Rangers.
Namestnikov reveals how he found out he was traded to Rangers before getting phone call from Lightning. MORE @ https://t.co/TuvahmhctS pic.twitter.com/LoL1paifPE
— BarDown (@BarDown) March 2, 2018
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Koekkoek didn’t have the NHL Network at his home, so he and Namestnikov we’re keeping up with what was going on by FaceTiming with their iPhones when the news broke that Ryan McDonagh was being traded to Tampa Bay. At that point, the next obvious question revolved around who Tampa Bay would be sending the other way.
We were both sitting on the edge of our seats wondering,” Koekkoek said. “Then when we saw (Ryan McDonagh got acquired), it didn’t come out what the trade was for a while. So we were both just looking at our phones and he ended up seeing it on TV before he got the phone call.”
Vladislav Namestnikov traveled from Tampa Bay to Vancouver which is where the New York Rangers were getting ready to take on the Canucks in their first game of a three-game Canada road trip. He arrived in time to play in his first game with the Blueshirts, wearing number 90 in his debut.
Namestnikov had a goal and an assist in the Ranges 6-5 overtime win on Wednesday night. Koekkoek was happy to see his former teammate have a successful debut with his new team.
The full trade the Rangers made with the Tampa Bay Lightning included Namestnikov along with prospects Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, Tampa’s 2018 first round draft pick and a conditional 2019 pick for defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller.
Namestnikov will return to Tampa Bay next Thursday when the Lightning host the New York Rangers at Amalie Arena.
It’s safe to assume there will be additional FaceTiming between the two prior to that game.
