The Rangers have traded defenseman Tarmo Reunanen to Carolina for forward Maxim Letunov.
Letunov, 26, can not play for the Rangers the rest of this season or playoffs.
Letunov has 13 goals and 10 assists in 60 AHL games this season and was a second round pick of St. Louis in 2014.
He has played in three career NHL games and 199 AHL games with San Jose’s AHL team and Carolina’s AHL team.
Letunov is scheduled to be a UFA at the end of the season.
Reunanen, 24, is scheduled to be an RFA at the end of this season. He played in four games for the Rangers last season and had one assist and this season he has two goals and 15 assists in 40 games with Hartford. Last season he had 4 goals and 13 assists in 21 games in Hartford.
Adam Rotter: Today is the AHL trade deadline and that is probably the impetus for this seemingly random trade.
It is two minor league trades in the last week where the Rangers dealt a defenseman for a forward that may not be with the organization past this season. The Rangers certainly have a lot of depth on defense and in Hartford and just signed Brandon Scanlin out of college to go with a group that features Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist, Hunter Skinner, Matthew Robertson and Jarred Tinordi. The Rangers have taken forwards like Jonny Brodzinski from the Wolf Pack so this is probably just Chris Drury and Hartford GM Ryan Martin looking to add forward depth for the Wolf Pack as they gear up for a playoff run of their own.