NY Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello has been privy to the swirling trade rumors surrounding him in advance of Monday's trade deadline, but he's doing his best to keep the noise at bay and focus on Saturday's on-ice task at hand against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I got a game today," Zuccarello said Saturday following the Rangers' morning skate at Wells Fargo Center in Philly, via Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. "That's all I'm focusing on. That's the only thing I can control. … Try not to think about it. Work hard tonight and do whatever I can to win hockey games, that's my focus. This is my team."
New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault would love to keep Zuccarello on the roster, but he knows that general manager Glen Sather will pull the trigger on such a deal if he can find fair value in return.
"There's no doubt in my mind, and I've made this very clear, that I'm a big Mats fan," Vigneault said. "That being said, history since I've been here in this organization would dictate that if [general manager] Glen [Sather] doesn't think he's getting a deal that can satisfy both the organization and the player, he won't hesitate to move anybody. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that both the player and the organization can come to an agreement."
ESPN.com was one of several media outlets reporting Saturday that the Rangers have made Zuccarello available in trade talks.
"That's the business part of it, I can't do anything about it," Vigneault said. "I would say that if somebody thinks that Glen is bluffing they should know that he traded his captain last year a couple minutes before the deadline. Got to be something he thinks is fair."
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