Nik Antropov, Derek Morris Add Size and Grit to Rangers Squad

After weeks of speculation, the New York Rangers made a big splash at today's trading deadline, acquiring left winger Nik Antropov and defenseman Derek Morris. 

The moves come a day after the team reacquired mercurial fan favorite Sean Avery off waivers from the Dallas Stars. 

All these moves come as the team attempts to reverse its recent slide by adding size and grit to a lineup which seems to lack both.

Antropov, 29, might prove to be the steal of the deadline. Toronto received a second round draft pick and a conditional pick (based on the Rangers' playoff position, but no higher than a third rounder) for the winger who has 21 goals and 26 assists this season. 

Morris, a coveted defenseman, was also targeted by Philadelphia and Washington. He comes over from Phoenix for Nigel Dawes, Petr Prucha, and Dmitri Kalinin. 

Prucha, who scored 30 goals in his rookie season, was never able to match that production and was frequently a healthy scratch the past two seasons.

In addition to adding two solid players to the lineup, this deal will add cap flexibility for the Rangers going into next season. 

Both Morris and Antropov are free agents after the season, as are Dawes, Prucha, and Kalinin. 

In effect, the deal swapped expiring contracts for expiring contracts, and the upside for the Rangers is worth the cost.

None of the three dealt players were likely to return next season. The Rangers will also be faced with free agency for core players such as Nikolai Zherdev, Brandon Dubinsky, and Ryan Callahan. 

When you can add a player of Morris' caliber for what amounts to nothing, you pull the trigger.

The new-look Rangers take the ice tomorrow night at the Nassau Coliseum facing their archrivals, the New York Islanders.

It's assumed that Antropov and Morris, along with Avery, will all be in the lineup tomorrow night.