It appears that Matt Beleskey will not be attending New York Rangers training camp and will head directly to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The New York Rangers have reportedly already made the decision to send left winger Matt Beleskey to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
Brooks is also reporting that the club will now only be charged $825,000 against the salary cap as a result of this move.
Beleskey, 31, was acquired by the Rangers as part of the deal that sent Rick Nash to Boston in 2018. The Rangers also acquired Ryan Lindgren, Ryan Spooner, and two first-round picks in the 2018 and 2019 drafts as a result of the deal.
He was scheduled to have a cap hit of $1.9 million from the Rangers and another $1.9 million from Boston. The Bruins were responsible to pay the other half of his contract per the trade agreement.
Beleskey appeared in four games for the Rangers last season, recording one goal. Prior to his trade to the Blueshirts, he had signed a five-year, $19 million deal with the Bruins in 2015.
A fourth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2006, Beleskey has scored four goals in 67 NHL games over the past four seasons. This lack of production comes after scoring 15 goals with Boston in the 2015-16 season and 22 with the Ducks in 2014-15.
Beleskey’s demotion is a result of a strong prospect pool heading to New York to start training camp on Thursday.
Kaapo Kakko, the second-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and Vitali Kravtsov are just two of the big names vying for roster spots.
