New York Rangers
Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Newsday

The New York Rangers continued making moves prior to Monday’s trade deadline, shipping Adam McQuaid to Columbus.

Dom Renna

The New York Rangers have reportedly traded defenseman Adam McQuaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Columbus will be sending back a fourth and seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Also, per Kevin Weekes of NHL Network, the Rangers are receiving Julius Bergman as well.

New York acquired McQuaid back in September in a deal that included Steven Kampfer, a fourth-round pick and conditional seventh pick. So basically, New York is getting back what they moved for the veteran defenseman.

After battling an injury early in the season, McQuaid quickly became a key element of the Rangers blueline. He and Brady Skjei developed into a legitimate paring bringing out the best in each other’s game.

Just like Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, McQuaid sat out the last two games for the Blueshirts after playing in a Feb. 21 loss to the Minnesota Wild. That game saw him leave early due to an injury for precautionary reasons, but it was later cleared he could have returned.

With the addition of the draft picks, New York now has seven draft picks in the first four rounds, after adding a first in the Hayes deal, a second in the Zuccarello deal, and a conditional second in the Ryan McDonagh trade last year.

The Rangers have now traded all three of their pending unrestricted free agents, but there is still time for deals to be made before the deadline hits. Reports have indicated Fredrick Claesson and newly acquired Brendan Lemieux are receiving interest around the league.

Teams can make trades up until 3:00 p.m. EST.

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Dominick is a graduate of Canisius College. He has covered the Rangers for the last seven seasons and the Yankees for the last four.