Seattle has selected Rangers RW Colin Blackwell in the expansion draft.

Blackwell had 12 goals and 10 assists in 47 games for the Rangers this season.

Blackwell signed a two-year deal with the Rangers last offseason and has a cap hit of $725,000.

Ron Francis said after the pick, “this guy is a guy who comes and works hard every single night, had a good run last year scoring goals and we are hoping he can do the same for us moving forward.”

Adam Rotter: Blackwell seemed like the consensus pick from most, though I still think Seattle would have been better off taking a chance on Julien Gauthier.

Blackwell was signed as a depth forward and signed for two-years specifically for expansion purposes. He turned into a good story for the Rangers this season and scored some goals while playing next to Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin. Will the Rangers miss Blackwell? Maybe a little, but the best Ranger lineup doesn’t have Blackwell in the top-six or, probably, top-nine. He’s a nice depth player, goes to the net and has enough skill to produce a little when lined up with highly skilled players.

The Rangers come away from expansion pretty much unscathed. They didn’t really have protection issues, didn’t have to engage in any side deals with Seattle and they lose someone whose spot in the lineup they are hoping someone else will take. Depth is always important, but Barclay Goodrow will fill a lot of what Blackwell brought, as will other players that the Rangers are going to add.