Before the game against the Calgary Flames, the Kraken announced that Alexander Wennberg would not participate in morning skate nor the game, as he was being held out for trade-related reasons. He did not play against the Winnipeg Jets the next day, either.
On the Jeff Marek show Tuesday, well-connected insider Elliotte Friedman believed the New York Rangers are the favorites to trade for Wennberg. However, there is an interesting potential complication: Rangers owner James Dolan also owns the Sphere in Las Vegas, where the 2024 NHL Draft is being held.
The Sphere is Vegas’s latest most ridiculous, over-the-top, absurd structure in a city that celebrates ridiculous over-the-top absurdity. The Sphere is a $2.3 billion, 336-foot tall, 516-foot wide structure with over 1.2 million LEDs on the outside. And you know what? I think it looks spectacularly cool.
James Dolan agrees that it’s cool. And therein lies the potential rub. A month ago, Darren Dreger of TSN reported:
James Dolan, the owner of the New York Rangers, wants to protect the 2024 first-round pick so that the Rangers can be part of the spotlight at the draft and The Sphere. Because Dolan is also the owner of The Sphere in [Las] Vegas. Doesn’t mean that [general manager] Chris Drury can’t use another first-round pick – maybe in 2025 or acquire one. But, the Rangers want to be part of the spectacle in Vegas.”
If the Rangers do not want to give up their 2024 first-round pick, that closes off one of the simpler paths for adequate compensation for Wennberg. A 2025 first-round pick is a fair bit less valuable. Ron Francis and the rest of the front office are absolute value hounds and understand this, so they would ask for more compensation than they otherwise would if the 2024 pick was on the table.
Wennberg was held out for the last two games and as of 8:30 pm on Tuesday, March 5th, he hasn’t been traded.
It is entirely possible that the stipulation handed down to Rangers GM Chris Drury may be complicating the negotiations, and that is why the Kraken have not yet traded Alexander Wennberg to the New York Rangers. If they do end up executing the trade, it may involve someone like 23-year-old Finnish forward Kaapo Kakko, who is a restricted free agent this summer and would be cost-controlled on his next contract.
The trade deadline is always mired in uncertainty. This is not helping matters any.
The NHL trade deadline is on Friday, March 8th at 12:00pm Pacific.
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