CHICAGO _ In a blockbuster trade on the first day of the NHL draft, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton shipped No. 1 center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes for the No. 7 pick and 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.
The Rangers also have the No. 21 pick in the first round and more salary cap space for future moves. They will need another center and an experienced goaltender to back up Henrik Lundqvist as well as continue their hunt for a top-pair defenseman.
"The more I've been in the league, the less I'm surprised," Stepan said about the trade.
It is possible the Rangers now will have room to sign unrestricted free-agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and/or Brendan Smith, if they find the right deal.
Gorton had been trying to gauge the market for Stepan, who has totaled between 50 and 55 points in the last four seasons but has a salary cap charge of $6.5 million, a no-trade clause due to kick in on July 1 and a limited no-trade clause two years later.
Stepan, 27, an alternate captain and former U.S. Olympian, struggled in the playoffs, but was one of the Rangers' best bargaining chips at a time when Gorton is trying to re-tool the club.
"It's been my home," Stepan said about leaving New York. "I'm surely gonna miss it, but I understand it's not personal, it's business."
Raanta, 28, was 16-8-2 with a 2.26 GAA and a .922 save percentage in his second season with the team. He is in the final year of a $1.1 million contract.
DeAngelo, a right-hander from Sewell, N.J., was the 19th overall pick by Tampa in the 2014 draft. He was 5-9-14 in 39 games for Arizona. The seventh pick in the draft will be the highest for the Rangers since 2004, when goalie Al Montoya was selected at No. 6.
"We've had some really good teams, been really close," Stepan said. "The Rangers continue to try to find ways to get over the hump."
