2/27/23  | On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said that he thought that the Flyers had been in on Kravtsov.

2/25/23 | 7:07 PM: Dhaliwal tweets that Vancouver has been after Kravtsov for a year, the two teams have been in discussions for the last four week, that the Rangers original ask was a mid-first round pick and that in recent days the Rangers had asked for Nils Hoglander.

4:02 PM: Rick Dhaliwal tweets that the Canucks thought the price for Kravtsov was too high a few days ago and wonders if the Rangers had initially asked for Nils Hoglander.

3:19 PM: Darren Dreger said that there “wasn’t a market” for Kravtsov and that there is some concern he could return to the KHL.

3:09 PM: The deal is Kravtsov to Vancouver for William Lockwood and a 7th-round pick in 2026.

Lockwood, 24, was a third-round pick in 2016 for Vancouver.

He has 12 goals and 6 assists in the AHL this season.

Lockwood has 26 games of NHL experience, with one assist. He played four seasons at the University of Michigan.

Ray Ferraro called Lockwood an “energy player” that would be on the “fringe” of their roster.

From the Rangers:

• Prior to going pro, the 5-11, 172 pound forward played four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he tallied 85 points (37G-48A) in 115 games. During his senior season (2019-20), as team captain, Lockwood was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten after ranking second on the team in scoring with 23 points (9G-14A).
• In his junior year campaign, he led the team in goals (16) and ranked second on the team in points (31). Lockwood was named the team MVP and top rookie his freshman year when he notched 20 points (8G-12A) and led the team in shorthanded and game-winning goals.

3:04 PM: The Rangers are reportedly trading Vitali Kravtsov to Vancouver. (Friedman)

Adam Rotter: There are two parts to this. There is the part where Kravtsov is being traded because Patrick Kane is coming in and there is the part where the Rangers have now moved another top-10 disappointment.

On the Kane part, the Rangers needed to move Kravtsov to get the space to get a potential difference maker and someone who was actually going to play.

On the trading of another top-10 disappointment, it’s a shame. He was the first of their three first round picks in 2018 and was supposed to be a core top-six forward for years to come. There has been so much drama with him that I’m not sure everything with all the times he didn’t want to go to Hartford, went back to Russia, left Russia, his trade requests and his brief times actually playing for the Rangers.

It remains to be seen if Kravtsov can actually become a consistent NHLer and reach some of the potential that came with being picked 9th overall. He needed a change of scenery and now he has it.