- Marcus Pettersson waived his no-movement clause to complete the July 1 trade from Vancouver to New York
- He and Sean Durzi are lined up as the Rangers’ new second defense pair behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov
- Read below for what both new Rangers said about the retool and their Mike Sullivan ties
Marcus Pettersson had a no-movement clause. He gave it up to become a Ranger.
The Swedish defenseman met with New York media Thursday for the first time since the July 1 trade that sent him from Vancouver to Broadway. He made clear the switch was an easy call once the Rangers came calling.
Pettersson liked what he walked into with a made-over New York roster:
New York got the 30-year-old from the Canucks for a top-10 protected first-round pick in the 2030 draft. He has five years left on his contract at a $5.5 million cap hit, and he posted 18 points in 82 games for Vancouver last season.
The deal reunites Pettersson with coach Mike Sullivan, who had him for parts of seven seasons in Pittsburgh. Rangers assistants David Quinn and Ty Hennes worked on that Penguins staff too.
“A lot of familiarity there, which always helps in a transition moving to a new city and a new team,” Pettersson said.
Sean Durzi is set to line up next to him. The Rangers grabbed the right-shot defenseman from Utah that same day, shipping Vincent Trocheck the other way in a package that also cost them center prospect Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third-round pick.
Durzi talked about buying into what New York is putting together:
This is the third summer trade of Durzi’s career after earlier moves from Los Angeles to Arizona and then on to Utah. The 27-year-old racked up 27 points in 60 games last season and projects as a power-play option behind Fox.
Pettersson already sees the fit. He played with John Marino in Pittsburgh, a former Durzi teammate in Utah, and got a scouting report on his new partner that way.
“If I do get the opportunity to play with Sean, I think we’d make a great pair,” Pettersson said. “We can complement each other very well.”
New York is coming off a rough year. The Rangers missed the playoffs for a second straight season and finished at least 10 points behind everyone else in the Metropolitan Division. Adding two top-four defensemen is a big piece of a retool that Chris Drury still isn’t finished with.
Fox and Gavrikov return as the top pair. If Pettersson and Durzi click the way both expect, the Rangers open camp in September with a much deeper blue line.
